Finding Myself
by Izzie09
Summary: Bella watched her family murdered by someone she loved.She kept her past as secret and lead a second life.Then she met Edward in her new school.Would she let Edward uncover her past?All human
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own anything**_

**This is my first time writing and I do not know if other authors have written almost the same story as this. Pls review and give any comments. **

Bella's point of view when she was 5 years old

Ding dong. I looked at the clock. It was 5.10 pm. I quickly put my cup on the table and ran to the door. However, when I reached the living room, my mother stopped me.

"Bella, my dear. Please go to your room and clean up your mess." I pouted. I wanted to see my brothers and play with them. I reluctantly went up to my room.

I was picking up my books on the floor when I heard my mother. She was screaming. That was odd. My mother hardly lost her temper. Even when I broke her favourite vase, she still didn't scream at me.

"Why are my kids with you?" my mother screamed. My brothers just ended their basketball practice. Normally they would walk home.

"Come on, Renee," the other voice said. That voice sounded so familiar.

"Can't I give a ride home for my best friend's kids? I saw them playing. They are good. Just like their father."

"Drew. Aaron. Get inside. Mummy needs a little talk with Uncle Karl here." So Uncle Karl was here. But why was she mad?

I silently walked to the stairs. When no one looked, I quickly went to the stor. I closed the door quietly so that no one knew I was there.

"Renee, why are you still standing at the door?" I saw my father walked to the door.

"What are you doing here?" my father hissed. Uncle Karl and dad were best friends since they were kids. Something was wrong here. I was convinced. I wanted to see what's was going on.

"Aren't you gonna invite your buddy here in? And I just gave a ride home for your kids. They shouldn't walk home, you know."

Suddenly I saw something shiny at Uncle Karl's right hand. I couldn't see what was it. Then I gasped. It was a long knife.

My mum lifted her hands in surrender. She and dad let him in the house. Drew and Aaron saw the knife too. They panicked. They started to throw the pillows to him.

"Stop it! Or I'll kill your precious mother here." He quickly put the knife at my mother's throat. Instantly my brothers stopped.

"Close the door, Charlie." My dad obediently closed the door.

"Now, where's Bella? Shouldn't she be at home?"

"Sh-sh-she's at the park playing." My mother stammered.

"Don't lie. You wouldn't want to set a terrible example for your kids here, would you?" he hissed.

"It's true. I sent her to play at the park cos she was feeling bored," said my father this time.

"Bellaaaa. Uncle Karl is here. I brought a present for you!" Uncle Karl was screaming at the top of his lungs, thinking I was at home.

But I didn't budge at all. I didn't run out of the stor. I stayed there quietly. Mum and dad wouldn't lie to Uncle Karl that I was at the park while just about ten minutes ago mum asked me to go to my room.

"Consider that Bella is lucky today. She wouldn't have to see this all by herself. I wouldn't hurt her if I see her next time. She's like my little princess to me," Uncle Karl said with a smile.

"Don't you dare call her as your little princess!" Wow. Dad was furious.

"Now, all of you on the ground. Aaron, get a rope for me." At first, Aaron didn't move. But when Uncle Karl started to tighten his grip around my mother's neck, he quickly went to the basement.

Five minutes later, Aaron came back with a rope. Uncle Karl instructed him to tie their hands together. Aaron quickly tied their hands while muttering "sorry".

I saw everything in a slow motion. I was too scared to move. I was in a huge shock. I saw how Uncle Karl stabbed both my parents cold-bloodedly. He wasn't even filled with remorse. My brothers watched our parents murdered by our favourite Uncle Karl.

They started crying and begging him to stop. But he didn't. Instead, he stabbed both of them. Tears started flowing down my cheeks. I had both my hands covering my mouth. Then, he went to the kitchen and grabbed the cooking oil.

He poured over their dead bodies. He took out his lighter from his pocket. He set up a fire. He was burning my family's bodies! My own family! And he was my favourite uncle.

Then, he started burning the curtains, the couch, the table…everything. He wanted to burn the whole house down.

Before he walked out, he said proudly to my parents, "Don't worry. I'll take care of Bella if I found her. Who knows what will happen to that little girl when she finds out that her family died? Maybe she will be sent to the asylum." He laughed at himself and quickly made a dash before the neighbours found out.

I stood in the stor. I was still shocked. I couldn't move. How could he do this? And why didn't my parents defend? They seemed to know that this was about to happen. Why? I had millions of questions in my head.

I quickly got out of the stor. They lied to him so that he wouldn't find me. I had to do what I had to do. I wouldn't let them die worrying about me. I picked up my courage and ran to the bathroom. I grabbed a few clean towels and headed to my family. I tried to put out the fire. But I couldn't.

"No!!!" I was crying. I failed to put out the fire and the fire seemed to spread everywhere. I had to think. Then I remembered something that my dad said last time.

_*Flashback*_

"_Bella, in case of any emergency, any at all, be it a fire or a flood, you have to go up to my room and grab important documents." My dad was giving me a talk._

"_What kind of documents, daddy?" I was three that time. But I was smart according to my parents._

"_Like your birth certificate. Okay, honey?" I nodded to show him that I understood._

_*End Of Flashback*_

I ran up to their room. I opened their closet. That was where my mother kept every important document. I grabbed my birth certificate, the will my parents made a year ago and the key to the safety box in the bank. I also grabbed the bracelet which was my mother's. She once said to me that it was her mother's and it was passed on to her. I had adored that necklace since I set my eyes on it. She told me that I could have the bracelet when I turned sixteen.

Then, I went to my room. I grabbed my backpack and stuffed everything inside. I went to my nightstand and put a photo of my family in my backpack. I opened my cupboard and randomly picked my favourite clothes.

After my backpack was somehow full, I made my way downstairs. I didn't realize that the fire was huge. I tried to run to my family. I saw them just lying there. I used my hand and wiped my tears away. I needed to be brave. I quickly ran to the back door to escape from the burning house.

I saw many concerned neighbours outside the house. I didn't want them to see me so I climbed over the fence and I put my feet to run. To run away from everything that had just happened. I ran to a forest nearby. I knew that place by heart. I finally collapsed under a tree and cried.

I didn't know how long I cried that night. I eventually fell asleep. The next morning, I stayed there. Thinking about Uncle Karl. How could he do this to me?

That day passed slowly. I walked with my head down to the park. I could hear all the mothers gossiping. But no one knew I was there. Everyone thought I was dead too.

"Did you hear about the Swans last night? Such a terrible tragic."

"Yeah. I heard that all their bodies were burnt to ashes. The police assume that the whole family was in the house."

"Who could have done such a thing? The Swans are a nice family."

The day went on. Every now and then, the mothers will talk about that night. I was heartache, hearing all of them. I didn't want them to acknowledge me. I didn't want Uncle Karl to find me.

**********

A few days passed. I survived by plucking all the juicy fruits off the trees from the forest. Everyone seemed to have moved on. No one talked about that night. They were all focused on their lives.

I was sleeping on a broad branch. I could climb the tree easily. There were many huge stones below the tree. The stones became my ladder to my new house on the tree.

"Oh my god! There's a girl sleeping there!" a voice woke me up. Damn. Not that I was sleeping nicely, but I was discovered.

That was how I was placed in an orphanage. This orphanage was not bad. When I first came here, they wanted to check what I had in my backpack. But I wouldn't let them. Soon, they just gave up. I didn't even give my name. So they always called me "that girl". I was fine with it though.

There were many kids in that orphanage too. But I didn't play with them. I was always moody. And soon many learnt to leave me alone. Whenever there were couples wanting to adopt, I would dress the filthiest.

But the luck seemed to die out on me. I was taken in countless foster homes. And I was always back in that same orphanage. All my previous foster families are horrible.

There was one woman who wanted money so she adopted me. According to her, the government gave money to every single mother who had lots of kids. It was pathetic. Why wouldn't she work then? Anyway, she didn't treat me that well and so I was sent back to the orphanage.

There was also a couple who locked their refrigerator so I wouldn't steal food. They agree to adopt me but left me to hunger. And so I was sent back again. There were more incidents. I was abused, sexually harassed and many more. The women at the orphanage didn't know what to do with me.

Apparently, I set a record there. I was sent to 25 fosters homes in just 3 months. It was like a record of achievement to me. And no one figured out what was in my backpack.

I didn't let them see. I didn't even wear my clothes that I took. Every night I would inhale the smell of my mother's washing detergent. I would see my family photo whenever I was alone. I didn't want them to know who I was. The thought of having Uncle Karl finding me was scary.

I grew up and became stronger. Stronger physically and emotionally. I asked the principle of the orphanage to allow me to take self-defense class. She allowed since I had nothing to do. And it was the only thing that I asked from her. I didn't give her any trouble and I just stayed in my own way.

I learned many kinds of self-defense. Wushu. Taekwando. Karate. You named it you got it. My teacher said I was good and a fast learner too. I just shrugged every time he made a comment on me. And he didn't call me "that girl". He just called me "the best student I ever had" or "that wonderful girl". I was flattered but I ignored those comments.

I had to attend church every Sunday. I prayed very hard. I would pray the same thing every Sunday.

"Please don't let Uncle Karl find me. Please let my family live happily up there." That was what I prayed every single time.

I also became braver and stronger. I once believed that everything happened for a reason. So I believed that my family died for a reason. I had not figured out what was the reason. And I had not figured out what made Uncle Karl killed my family. They were my only family. I had neither aunts nor uncles. I had no other relatives and I took Uncle Karl as my uncle that I never had.

That was the biggest mystery. Every day I would try to fit in the missing puzzle. What triggered Uncle Karl? What did my parents know about him?

Maybe my brain had not developed properly. I was still young. Up till now, I still could not solve that mystery. It has been few months now.

And I always kept a low profile. Every one seemed to forget my existence. Which was good for me. I didn't want people finding out that I survived from that fire. The girl who survived. Just like Harry Potter. But everyone recognized him because of his famous scar at his forehead. Me? I had nothing special. So I kept low profile.

I was thinking about that night when Mary, one of the orphans here burst my thinking bubble.

"Hey. They asked me to call you for dinner."

She was holding my hand. More like dragging me out of the chair. But she was small and adorable. I liked her. Her parents died in a car accident and she was at the same age as me.

"Okay."

I got up and we walked to the dining table hand-in-hand. We sat next to each other and began to eat. It was mashed potato, chicken and mixed vegetables. I ate slowly as I didn't have anything to do later.

Out of a sudden, a rat was running under the table. Every girl screamed and started jumping at their chair. Except for me. I just ate my dinner, ignoring all the fuss about the rat.

The women had to calm the girls and one of them chased the rat away. It took them nearly fifteen minutes.

"Why aren't you scared of the rats?" asked Mary after the commotion died down.

"Because it's just a rat?" I replied sarcastically.

"But they are ugly and dirty. And they nibble stuff," she replied.

I just shrugged. I didn't like to be engaged in this type of conversation. I guessed that I was mature at my age. Normal girls at my age didn't take self-defense class and aced very well. They were also scared of rats. And they liked to play.

I wasn't like any other normal girl. After dinner, we walked to the living room. It was Friday night, which meant movie night.

"Great." I muttered. The movie was picked by majority. And this time it was Daddy Day Care. We watched that movie for the millionth time. I did not get it why would they like this movie.

After the first hour, I went to bed. I just told them that I was sleepy. As I laid on the bed, I thought back of all my happy memories.

_*Flashback*_

"_Hey Bella! Catch!" I quickly extended my arms and the ball fell neatly into my arms._

"_Good girl!" Aaron said with a goofy grin._

"_I am not your dog! So stop saying "good girl"! Or I'll throw this ball at your head." I pretended to aim the ball at him._

_We were playing basketball. Two of my brothers loved playing basketball. They were even in their school team. It was not a surprise. My father was a professional basketball coach. He trained them everyday. I started playing basketball when I started walking, according to my mother._

_*End Of Flashback*_

I woke up suddenly that night. I looked around me. Everyone had slept soundly. I let my tears flowed down. That dream was a happy dream. And I could not have any of those basketball moments with my brothers and my father anymore.

After having that dream, I realized that part of me died too with my family. I no longer played basketball. I never played make-up or house. I never played anything at all. Not even tag or hide and seek.

Maybe luck would turn around next time. Maybe I would be a better person. And maybe Uncle Karl would pay for what he did to my family. If there was such thing as luck now, for I did not believe in luck after everything I had gone through.

**Pls review. I appreciate it very much. So pls review…**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own anything.**

**I'll be uploading a few chapters first to see how it goes. There'll be lots of flashback to see Bella's past.**

Bella's point of view when she was 15 years old

It had been ten years. And now I was adopted by a couple, Nick and Jen. They were nice to me. They adopted me eight years ago.

I tried my usual trick. I purposely made a huge fuss. I made lots of tantrum for them. But they were patient. They didn't want to throw me away. And I was the only adopted kid they had. They could not have a baby. So they decided to adopt.

_*Flashback*_

_"We have a lot of kids here. Take your time to pick. Maybe you would like to get to know them better first?" said the principle._

_"We would just look around. Thank you. We will call you if we need any help," replied Jen._

_They stayed at the orphanage the whole day. And of course I stayed at my bed. I didn't care about them. They would just be better off if they adopted someone else like Mary. They would just throw me back after a few days of adopting me._

_Surprisingly, Nick came to me. He started staring at me. I stared back at him. His eyes were filled with curiosity. _

_"Do you know that it is rude to stare at other people?" I said suddenly, breaking off the silence._

_He chuckled, "What's your name?"_

_"They called me "that girl"," I replied politely and looked away._

_"And why would they call you that? I'm sure you have a name."_

_"Can you please go downstairs and pick someone else?" I was getting impatient. I wanted him to go away._

_"There you are! I was looking for you," Jen came in._

_"Hey. I was here talking to this little girl," He gave a peck at her cheek._

_"Look. There's a lot other kids here. So don't waste your time on me. If you want a cute little girl, there's Mary. If you want a boy, then there's John," I suddenly burst. I walked out of the room and went downstairs where everyone was. I could see from the corners of my eyes that they followed behind me._

_"So have you decided? Or do you need more time?" asked the principle. In my opinion, she sounded desperate. Desperate to give away the kids in the orphanage house._

_"I was wondering about that girl. Why is she "that girl"?" asked Nick, pointing his finger at me._

_"Oh! You wouldn't want that girl. She gives a lot of trouble to foster families. Which is quite a contrast. She's always a quiet girl and stays out of trouble when she's here. But when she's adopted, she somehow managed herself to get thrown back into here," replied the principle._

_I thanked the principle at heart. Even though her words seemed a bit harsh but at least that would keep them away form adopting me._

_"She was sent here and we don't know anything bout her. She was found sleeping in a forest. She brought along her backpack but she wouldn't let anyone touch it nor see what was inside. She wouldn't tell us her name. She was just quiet and lead her own life," the principle continued._

_And the next day, Jen came up to me. She tried making conversation with me. Every time I had to put a weak smile for her. I was just being polite. Besides, I told her who she should adopt. So I doubt that she would pick me after listening to the principle's explanation._

_*End Of Flashback*_

And so that was how I was adopted. I had to admit, they had to be given lots of credit. They managed to put up well with my behaviour.

So I just played nice. They even let me continued my self-defense classes. They sent a request to the court to give me a name right after they adopted me. They asked me what name I would want.

_*Flashback*_

_"So, the court agreed. We will have custody on you and you will be given a name. Isn't it great?" Nick was happy when he received the news from his lawyer._

_"Come on. You would like a name, wouldn't you?" Nick continued._

_"Isabella," I wanted to keep my name._

_"Ok. So you will be Isabella," Nick was nice. He asked my opinion on everything. Like which tie he should wear to work, which shirt he should wear for a party and so on. I began to like him._

_"Isabella Anne Mischaux," Jen said._

_"That's a nice name. Do you like it Isabella?" Nick asked._

_I was Isabella Marie Swan. But I needed to put away my past so I agreed. And I needed to start a new life too._

_"Yeah. I like it. But I prefer if you would just call me Bella," I replied._

_Nick sensed something and asked, "Was your name Isabella before you were put in that orphanage?"_

_I looked at him. He was being thoughtful and trying to know me better. I nodded weakly and tried to fight back my tears._

_"Hey. Don't cry. I would care for you. You would be my precious daddy's little girl. Ok?" He reached out his hand and wiped away a tear which escaped from my eyes._

_I did not know what came over me. I went forward and hugged him. He hugged me back. I could feel comfort and safe. And so I decided to live a second life._

_*End Of Flashback*_

Nick was a founder of this telecommunication company. His company was huge. Every month, there would be news on him. Because of his famous entrepreneurship and his good looks.

Jen, on the other hand, worked as a secretary at a fashion magazine, Vogue. Couldn't it be more interesting? My mother worked as the editor in Vogue. But Jen only worked there for two years so she could not possibly knew about me.

After they did everything which was needed like getting me a name and making sure I got used to the environment. So my identity as Isabella Anne Mischaux was practically the same as Isabella Marie Swan. Oh yeah. They lived at Colorado. So when they adopted me, we had to board a plane. I could not understand why they would purposely take a plane ride just to adopt someone. In this case was me.

They sent me to a private school which was cool. The school was awesome. I quickly picked up my studies and soon I was a straight A's geek.

My thoughts went away when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in," I said, wondering who was it.

"It's 5 o'clock now. Get ready now," Jen said as she popped her head in.

We were going to attend a party co-hosted by Vogue. All the staff members of Vogue had been invited. Great. I thought to myself. I hoped no one could recognize me. It had been five years now. So, they couldn't recognize me right?

"Get into the showers. I'll lay your clothes on your bed," Jen said while opening my closet.

She was a fashion expert as everyday she had to be stuck in all the fashion crisis in Vogue. She even managed to get lots of free clothes for me too. And trust me, the clothes weren't cheap. They were all branded. Gucci. Prada. Chanel. Ralph Lauren. But they were nice and trendy. I loved them so I accepted them with big smiles plastered on my face.

I turned the shower on. The cold water kept me away from my thoughts. When I went in my bedroom, I saw an outfit which was fabulous. I didn't see the outfit before and I was sure it didn't came from my closet.

"I take it that you like it? My friend, Sarah from work gave these to me for you. She said you will like it," Jen said.

I put on the clothes and went to my full length mirror to have a look on myself. I could not believe that the girl in front of me was actually me. The white dress clung onto me perfectly. It reached right above my knee. I wore black leggings with black heels which Jen got it out of my closet. She buckled a thick black belt onto my waist. There were two small pockets in front of the dress so I did not bring any bag. I slipped my cell into my right pocket and I was ready to go.

When we reached there, the atmosphere was crazy. There were so many people and celebrities would be there too. I saw Brad Pitt with Angelina Jolie, Hayden Panettiere, Anne Hathaway...the list went on. We went in and Jen was greeting everyone she knew from work.

"Nicole, this is my husband, Nick and my daughter, Bella," Jen introduced us. I gasped. She was Nicole. She was my mother's prodigy to be an editor in the magazine.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Nicole. I'm the editor of the magazine," Nicole said while shaking hands with Nick.

"Hey Bella. You look like someone I know. Hmm… But I cannot recall who might that be," said Nicole who had just diverted her attention to me.

"You look nice in this dress. Was this the one Sarah gave?" Nicole asked without looking at Jen.

"Yeah. Sarah said it might look nice on her. She was right," Jen replied.

"Bella, I have an idea for you. Would you like to be a model for the magazine? We have Teen Vogue and you might be the right person to model off our clothes," Nicole suddenly said.

"Err…" I tried to think of an excuse to reject the offer politely. Most of the staff members would be able to recognize me as I used to follow my mother to work when I was young.

"What do you say, Jen?" asked Nicole.

"She has school. And we plan to send her to a boarding school next year," replied Jen.

"She can be our part time model. She will be great. She has the body and looks." I blushed after hearing this comment.

"It's up to her. It's ok with me," Jen replied. The three of them looked at me.

"Bella, why don't you go for it? It would be fun," Nick finally said.

"But if you want her to model, you have to go through me first. I'll approve her to model whenever I think it's ok since she has school to worry about." Nick looked at Nicole. She nodded in agreement.

"Looks like I don't have a choice now. Ok. I'll model part time." I stressed the word 'part time' so I wouldn't need to model so much.

"Great. Jen, can you bring her for her first photo shoot next Monday?"

"Sure. I'll just bring her to work with me."

"Ok. I have to go now. I need to do some hosting here. See you on Monday, Bella."

The rest of the night passed by slowly. I didn't know the people there. And most of the people were adults. How could I mingle with adults? I was just a teenager. So I excused myself from Nick and Jen and went to explore the place myself. I managed to make a few conversations with some celebrities. After the party, we went back home and soon I was sleeping on my comfortable bed.

I went for modeling on Monday. Thankfully, no one recognized me. Most of them thought they saw me from somewhere else. But I shrugged every time and they could not remember where they could have seen me. The photo shoot went well. The photographer even said I had a hidden talent to be a model. I was flattered but I never thought of becoming a model.

"Bella, if you ever want to be a model, come to me. I can help you put up a portfolio and introduce you to people. I have connections as I'm a photographer." The photographer winked at me.

"Ok. When that day comes, I'll come and find you." I smiled at him. The photos would be inserted in the next issue of the magazine. Which meant about a fortnight later, I would be able to see my face in the magazine. Jen even made a note to remember to buy that issue.

**********

The next few days passed by so fast. Nick and Jen took me to the mall almost everyday to buy everything which they thought I needed. I was going to a boarding school tomorrow but the school only started the week after. The principle wanted all the students to get used to the school environment for at least a week before the lessons started.

I glanced at the clock. It was 5.35 pm. Nick was coming home soon.

I couldn't wait for Nick. We were going to play basketball later and he promised to teach me some tricks. Nick and I became huge fans of basketball. I only realized that he liked basketball a few years ago.

Beep beep. Nick horned the car, signaling that he reached home. I got up to my feet and quickly opened the door for him.

"Bella was anxious for you to come home," Jen teased.

"What? He promised that he'll teach me some cool tricks for basketball." I pouted.

"Nick, I thought we had a girl, not a boy. You are turning her to be a tomboy," Jen said teasingly.

I waited patiently for Nick to change his clothes. I practiced to shoot some hoops. The ball landed into the basket neatly every time.

"Wow. You are getting better every time I see you play." Nick appeared behind me. I threw him the ball and made a face.

He chuckled, "Ok. I'm going to teach you some tricks. It's more like a high school trick. I always used this tricks when I played last time." He stood in front of me, trying to defend me.

"You have to fake your directions. And I know your maths is good. And your physics. So I want you to fake that you're going to throw the ball to your left. And then, you throw the ball at your right with a correct angle so the ball will land into the basket. Got it?"

I nodded. We spent for quite a long time to get the concept. Every throw, I would see the ball would end up outside the basket. But there was this type of magnetic force which pulled the ball into the basket. Soon I grasped the concept and practiced until it was dark.

"Yes! I managed to throw the ball in when he was defending me mummy," I said happily while running to Jen.

"Wait. What did you say just now?"

"I said, I managed to throw the ball in when he was defending me mummy," I said sheepishly.

"Oh my god. You called me mummy. Am I dreaming?"

"Nope. I also heard it the first time she said it," Nick said with a smile. I looked at him and just realized what I just said.

Looking at my face, Jen quickly added, "It's ok to call me mummy. I have been waiting for this day."

"Ok, mummy," I said. I didn't even realized I said it. Jen cooked my favourite spaghetti. She was in a good mood. Both Nick and I went to shower. Then we went to the music room. This was another hobby we both picked and had in common.

I was picking up my stick and started to play the drums. Soon, I created a marvelous beat. Nick came in and realized it too.

"Looks like everyone's in good mood." Nick picked up his guitar and started to play to fit the melody to my beat.

We spent the time creating a new song to remember that day. I was glad I called Jen as my mother. Maybe my heart had opened for them.

"Dinner's ready. You can continue to play later." Jen stuck her head in.

We ate the dinner happily that time. We were talking and talking. It was the best day. And I was going to leave for a new school tomorrow.

"Let me do the dishes. I'm sure you would want to finish the song before she goes to school tomorrow," Jen suggested. We thanked her and ran to the music room. We picked up from where we left and spent hours to create a new song.

"Ok. 5, 6, 7, 8," I said while clicking my sticks together.

_Today was the best day_

_The day where everyone is together_

_The day when a family is perfect_

_The day how a family is finally formed..._

The song continued. We were so absorbed into our new song until we didn't hear Jen entering the room. After we sang finish, we heard an applause.

"Good work. I like that song." Jen was clapping her hands.

"Thank you. It was started by Bella," said Nick.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You started by creating a new rhythm."

"But I could just be banging the drums for fun. It doesn't mean that we have to create a song," I said innocently. Both of them laughed and had their hands covered their mouth when I glared at them.

"Go to bed now, honey. Tomorrow is your big day. That school is very hard to get in. Luckily Nick managed to put you in. You will have a bright future if you graduate from there," Jen said after calming down.

"Ok. Good night." I went to them and hugged them before going upstairs to my room.

**Pls review...Thanks!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own anything.**

**This is Bella when she goes to a new school. She's around 16 years old but i put her birthday around September. So she hasn't actually turn 16. And the Bella in my story is not a klutz and more outgoing.**

"Honey, you better close your mouth before any fly enters," Nick joked. My jaw dropped and could reach the ground practically. The school was like a mini town. There were shops everywhere. There was even a shopping mall with bowling alley, ice skating rink and archery. There was a hotel for guests and parents to stay. It was a wonderful school.

"Bye Dad. Thanks for enrolling me into this school. This school is so awesome."

"Anything for you, my dear. We will miss you terribly. Take care and be good."

"Am I anything but good?" Nick chuckled.

"We got to go now. Nick has a meeting later. Bye. Call me or email me," said Jen while hugging me.

I hugged both of them and kissed both their cheeks before I proceeded to the administration office. As I walked in, I could see that the school was truly a prestigious school. It was different from the private school I enrolled last time.

"Hi, my name is Isabella Anne Mischaux. I'm new here," I introduced myself.

"Oh. Here's your schedule and map of the school. Your classes only start next week,"

"Thank you."

I walked towards the girls dorm and went into my room. As I opened the door, I vaguely saw a dark haired girl jumping towards me.

"Alice, give her some air to breathe," another voice said.

"Hi. We are your roommates. This is Alice and I'm Rosalie. Your room is the far left." I saw a blonde haired girl spoke.

"Ok. Thanks. I'm Bella." I was being polite. But I had hard time socializing since that night. I was not enrolled in this school to have friends but to study for a brighter future. So I just walked to my room and dumped my bags on the floor. The room was huge. It had all the necessary furniture in the room. I even had my own bathroom. I unpacked my stuff from my bag. I managed to unpack all my clothes and headed to put my toiletries in the bathroom. As I went back into my room, I saw Alice running through my clothes in the cupboard.

"What are you two doing?" I asked without raising my voice.

"Oh, we were just looking through what clothes you have," replied Alice.

"Please get out of my room."

"We weren't being rude. I was just curious."

"Yeah. Alice has a thing for clothes or fashion," Rosalie said this time.

"Please. I'm tired now." I hoped they took in my lame excuse and left me alone.

"Ok. We are going out later. Do you want to come along?" asked Alice.

"No thanks." I politely rejected them.

When they left my room, I locked my room to have a little privacy. I set my laptop in the table and wrote a short email to Jen.

_Hey!! The school is awesome. My room is huge. For a school, if you get what I mean. The school compound is…how do I put it…err…big? huge? spacious? Anyway, I'm just writing to let you know that I'm fine here. I'm going to explore the school later. I don't think I'll manage to explore everything by today. I guess they weren't kidding bout taking 1 week to get used to the environment. Bye! Love ya._

_Ps. How was the meeting? Did they accept your ideas?_

_Love, Bella_

I tied my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my keys. I was walking at a park when I came across a basketball court. There was a few guys playing there and then when I went to the bench, I saw Alice and Rosalie.

"Hey!" Alice ran to me and hugged me.

"Hi." I saw a guy who was muscular and tall. He looked like Aaron. I quickly went away before all the memories flashed in my head. It was almost 7 pm. So I went back to my room. When I went in, I could see a crowd. I tried walking past them into my bedroom but I was stopped by Alice.

"Great," I muttered under my breath.

"Hey guys. This is Bella. She's our new roommate."

"Hey. I'm Jasper. Alice's boyfriend," said a blonde haired guy.

"And I'm Edward. No one's boyfriend," a bronze hair guy said with a crooked grin.

"I'm Emmett. Rosalie's boyfriend," said the muscular guy who I saw just now at the basketball court.

"We are like a family. Jasper is Rosalie's younger brother. Emmett is my elder brother. And Edward is my twin. So Jasper, Edward and I are 16 years old this year while Rosalie and Emmett are 17 this year," said Alice.

"Hi. I'm just gonna crash my bed now. Bye. Nice meeting you guys," I said politely.

Just as I closed my door, I heard Alice saying "She's weird. And she's not friendly. We're gonna spend the whole year with her!"

"Maybe she's just new. Let her adjust to here first"

The rest of the conversation continued. I went to my bathroom and showered. Then I lied down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I was wondering how Emmett looked like Aaron. Aaron was muscular and tall too. And he was 15 years old when he died.

"Get a grip on yourself, Bella. He's no one," I scolded myself. Then, my stomach grumbled. Time to eat. I went out of the room and found that they went out. I grabbed my cell and keys. I wanted to try the food here. I passed by a few restaurants just now. I was craving for something Italian.

I bought a lasagna. I sat alone at the food court when I heard a group of people laughing. I looked up and saw them again. I guessed the school was not that big as I thought. I quickly ate my food and dumped the rubbish into the trashcan. I went to Juice Works and ordered a strawberry smoothie.

"One strawberry smoothie for a pretty girl here," said the guy behind the counter.

"Thanks." I took out my money and handed him a twenty dollar note.

"Please come again." I took back the change and the receipt. I was laughing when I saw the receipt. He wrote his name and number onto the receipt. I threw the paper away and headed to my room. When I reached there, they had not arrived yet.

The next day, I explored the school more. Alice and Rosalie knew that I wasn't a sociable person so they left me alone. I decided to go for a jog so I changed my outfit and tied my hair into a messy ponytail. I was jogging through the park when Edward joined me.

"Hi. Mind if I join you? I could introduce you to this school." Edward jogged towards me.

"Yup. So please leave me alone."

"Are you always that cold?" I glared at him and he just chuckled.

"Which part of 'leave me alone' that you don't get it?" I asked, feeling more impatient. I like jogging to myself and I hardly known him. I had learnt the hard way to not trust anyone easily.

"Ok. Fine. But don't say I wasn't friendly, welcoming you to this school." He jogged away and soon I found my own peace. I continued to jog and I realized that I had jogged for nearly an hour. I came across the basketball court again and saw Edward, Emmett, Jasper and three other guys playing basketball.

"Hey. Isn't it the unfriendly girl again?" teased Edward. I pretended to look behind and he laughed.

"I was talking bout you, Bella."

"Really? I was wondering who might that be as someone who is as rude as you cannot call other people unfriendly."

"I'm really hurt, Bella." He placed his left hand over his chest, pretending that he was hurt.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes at him. They continued playing their basketball match. I realized that they were good. Especially Edward. But Emmet was good at defense while Jasper was good at shooting hoops. The other three were average good.

I went back to my room after watching the match. Edward's team won. I took a long hot shower and changed into a simple shirt and jeans. I was walking out of my bedroom when I saw them in the living room.

"Oh my gosh. Where did you get this shirt? I saw it from Teen Vogue last month but I couldn't find it," said Alice while admiring the shirt. It was Gap shirt. It was long and clung onto my body well. To me, it was a simple shirt.

"My mother got it for me," I replied shortly.

"Do you know where she got it?"

"I dunno." I just shrugged, hoping the conversation would end. I quickly grabbed the keys and went out.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw them walking out too. I continued walking myself to the food court. I ordered Caesar salad and orange juice. I saw them ordering food too and slowly walked to my place.

"Please don't sit with me. Please don't sit with me." I prayed in my head, hoping they would just walked away.

"Hey. Are you on diet? Gosh, you are like Rosalie," teased Emmett. Rosalie playfully punched him at his arm. I looked up and saw them sitting at my table. I also saw Rosalie ordered a normal salad. I ate my dinner quietly while they started chatting with each other.

"You are awfully quiet today, Bella," Edward suddenly said.

"Cos I don't feel like talking to you?" I replied sarcastically.

"Ouch. Second time you hurt me, Bella. How many times do you planned to hurt me?"

I shrugged and quickly finished my salad. I threw my rubbish away and went to the Juice Works again. I realized it was the same guy behind the counter from yesterday.

"Hey. Did you missed me? What would you like to order?" said Eric. I found out his name from the receipt he gave me yesterday.

"Strawberry sorbet please."

"Strawberry sorbet for a pretty girl again. So, I was waiting for your call. Why didn't you call me?"

"Sorry. I was busy," I replied innocently. I heard someone laughing behind me. I spun around and saw them again. They ordered their ice cream and I was walking back when they stopped me.

"Hey. Your ice cream is bigger than ours," whined Emmett.

"That's because that guy is not interested in you," replied Edward. They started laughing and I quicken my pace to get away from them.

"Hey. What's the rush?" Edward grabbed my hand.

"Let go."

"Or what? What did your parents do to have a sour girl like you?" Edward said. That comment threw me off. I was so mad until I didn't realize that I had dropped my ice cream. I shoved him with both my hands and I ran. My tears started flowing. I ran back to my room and locked it behind me.

They went in the room and started knocking my door.

"Bella. I'm sorry. I was just joking." It was Edward's voice.

"Can't that girl take a joke?" It was Emmett this time.

"Get lost and leave me alone." I got up and washed myself before climbing back onto my bed. I cried myself to sleep.

_I saw Uncle Karl stabbed my parents. My brothers were begging for mercy. I saw that long knife was covered with my family's blood. Then, I saw the fire. The house was burnt down along with my family. It was greatly burnt until what was left were ashes._

I woke up, hearing Alice and Rosalie knocking onto my door. The door seemed like it could break anytime. I went to the door and saw both of them having a worried look.

"Bella. Are you alright?" Alice was looking at me up and down.

"I'm fine. What are you guys doing? It's still early." I glanced at the clock.

"It's 4.45 am? Are you guys crazy?" I screamed.

"You were screaming, Bella. We were worried so we came over." Alice nodded in agreement.

"Sorry. What was I screaming?" I was feeling curious. I knew I talked in my sleep but I hoped they get nothing from what I just screamed.

"Something about 'No, don't kill them' and you were just screaming practically."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's ok. Bad dream?" asked Rosalie.

"Yeah. Sorry. You guys need your beauty sleep. Good night." I closed the door behind me.

The next few days went normal. By the end of the week, I had explored practically the whole school except for my classes. I realized that not very often there would be guests at the hotel. And there was many people at the mall. I jogged everyday and would see them play basketball. They also learnt to leave me alone since that day. I was grateful for that.

Finally, the day came. It was the start of my semester. I woke up slightly earlier than usual to shower. Then, I wore something which Jen liked. A black Chanel top with Levi jeans. I tied my hair into French braid. After I was satisfied with my look, I grabbed my keys and headed for a new semester.

I had English as my first class. I got lost in the school. The school was huge. I could not explore the school during the entire week of getting used to the school environment because it was closed. I looked at the map again.

"Having trouble?" I saw a guy came up to me.

"Yeah. I'm having English under Mrs. Donningham."

"Oh. I'm having that class too. Are you new?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Mike Newton. I'll just walk with you to class."

"I'm Bella. Thanks." And so we walked to class together. A few girls looked at us. He started talking but I wasn't paying any attention to him.

"There. This is our class." Mike gestured his hand to the class.

"Ok. Thanks." I quickly went to the teacher and handed her my slip. I was given a slip as I was a new student. I had to get every teacher to sign it and returned it to the administration office.

"Ok, class. This is Bella. She's new here. So I hope everyone will be nice to her to make her feel welcome," Mrs. Donningham spoke after the bell went off.

"Bella, sit right behind there. Next to Edward Cullen." She pointed to the only empty sit at the back of the class. I walked to my seat and settled myself.

"Hey. Look. I'm sorry bout that day. Friends?" said Edward after I sat.

"I'm just being an idiot. Your comment meant nothing. My mind was at other stuff," I lied. I didn't want him to find out anything about me based on that comment.

"Ok. Friends?" He took out his right hand.

"Nope. So leave me alone," I smiled at him.

"Fine. Be that unfriendly girl again." He took back his hand. I smiled meekly at him. The class continued. It was so boring. We were going to learn about Shakespeare. Most of the students in my class did not know Shakespeare's works.

"Mrs. Donningham. Why do we need to study his works? Isn't the guy dead already?" asked a guy. I looked at him. How could he be so stupid?

Edward looking at my face, said, "Wow. Do you think that you're smart to pull off that expression?

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes at him and returned to my book.

"He created many great works. And his works carry many messages beneath them, Derrick. So please continue back to our class or I'll give you an assignment to appreciate his works." Mrs. Donningham opened her books and the class continued. I didn't want to be the obvious geek so I kept all my answers to the questions that she asked to myself.

The next class was Maths. I thought Maths would be fine as I loved Maths. I was so wrong thinking about that when I went into the classroom.

**So how is it? So pls review. It means alot to me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own anything.**

I bumped into someone as I was rushing into the class. I took my time at the locker just now to take my books out. We both fell down and our books were around us.

"Sorry. I didn't see you," I apologized.

"It's ok. I didn't see you too." The velvet voice sounded familiar. I looked up and saw the least person I would want to see.

"Hi. You're in Maths too?" I just nodded and gathered my books. When I went in, I handed Mr. Swadski my slip. Then, another surprise came in.

"Bella. Sit next to Cullen there." I was shocked. I sat next to him in English just now but Maths too? I saw the class slowly filled with people. I was staring at the window when someone came over.

"Hey, Bella. You're in Maths too? How coincidence?" said Mike.

"Yeah. Just my luck," I said sarcastically. However, Mike didn't sense my sarcasm.

"Newton. Go back to your seat. Don't disturb the new girl," said Mr. Swadski sternly.

"Great. Thanks a lot," I muttered. Edward chuckled beside me and I sent him a glare.

The class was not very interesting. I knew how to do equations since the I was thirteen. I worked my answers on a piece of paper as Mr. Swadski wanted us to write our answers on the board. Every student in the class had went forward to work out the equations.

"Teacher, Bella hasn't do any questions yet." I followed the voice and I saw Mike.

"Bella's new."

"But there should not be any exceptions right?"

"Fine. Bella. Come up when you are ready." He wrote an equation. I quickly solved it on my paper. When I was done, I went to the front. I purposely gave a wrong answer which was different from the answer I wrote on my paper.

"Bella. It's wrong. Do you want to change it?" asked Mr. Swadski.

"Nope. I don't know where I have gone wrong, Mr. Swadski." I lied and Mr. Swadski corrected my mistake. I saw Edward looking at me as I took my seat.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Why did you give wrong answer? I saw you worked out correct answer." He pointed to my paper on the table.

"Do you know the meaning of privacy?" I crumpled the paper before he saw the rest of my answers.

"I saw all your answers. And they were correct. What are you trying to hide?"

"Cullen. Stop talking. I want to continue the class now." The class continued. Edward kept looking at me during the class. I was glad when the class ended.

I quickly packed my books when the bell went off. Gym was next. I went to the locker room and took out my shirt to change.

"Hey. You're the new girl right?" Why did everyone knew that I was new?

"Yeah." I replied.

"My name's Angela." She looked like a shy girl to me.

"Bella." I made my way to the changing room and changed my clothes. When I enter the gym, there was so many people.

"Ok, class. We will join the class with Mr. Waggart. I want the boys to train for their basketball match this week and Mr. Waggart will be in charge of you at the moment."

"Hey, Bella. Isn't it great that we will get a free period and all of us are together?" Alice came running to me.

"Hey." I realized that Edward, Emmett, Jasper and the three other guys I saw that day were in the basketball team. Rosalie was in Mr. Waggart's class and Alice was in mine. And since we combined the class, Rosalie and Alice would be in the same room as me for the rest of the period. I watched them played. The school's team was not bad and I learnt that Edward was the captain. The cheerleaders were practicing at the corner of the room.

"Hey, stuck-ups." I saw three cheerleaders came.

"Hey, losers," replied Rosalie.

"Why do they call you stuck-ups and you call them losers?" I asked.

"Cus they are jealous that Emmett and I are together while Alice and Jasper are together. They are trying to get Edward's attention, especially Tanya," answered Rosalie.

"We do not want anything with you. Edward is sooo unlucky to have you guys as family." one of the cheerleaders said.

"Hi, you wouldn't want to mix with them. I'm Tanya, this is Jessica and Lauren." I walked away, rolling my eyes. They were so bitchy but I wasn't going to lose myself. I sat and watched the guys played. I realized that the only people doing some exercising were the basketball players and cheerleaders.

Then I saw Mike came. I quickly got up and tried walking away. But he grabbed my arm and spun me around.

"Hey. We are in English and Maths together. And Gym too? Am I lucky or what?"

"Ask the people who arranged the schedule and classes." I jerked my arm from Mike and walked away.

"You're not very friendly. I'm being nice, you know. And I like you. You're pretty." He smiled at me.

"Because I'm an unfriendly girl. So leave me alone." I walked away and found myself walking towards Angela. She was sitting alone so I thought that there was no harm sitting next to her.

"Hey. What did you say to Mike? He was so shocked."

"Oh. I just asked him to leave me alone."

"Finally." I looked at her, with a big fat question mark stamped at my forehead.

"Oh, it's just that not many people say that to Mike. So he's kinda playboy and a jerk." Angela laughed after saying that. I laughed along and we talked a little since we didn't share any class together besides Gym.

"Looks like the unfriendly girl made a friend." Edward walked to us.

"Whatever. Leave us alone. She's not as rude as you and she's better than you," I replied.

He chuckled, "Do you know that she has been cold to everyone except you? You better be careful." He looked at Angela for a response.

"Well, she managed to tell Mike off, so she's good to me," replied Angela with a smile.

"Wow. New girl, not bad." Emmett came this time.

"Don't you guys have to play?" I asked, feeling more irritated.

"Yeah. But we do have a break too. We are not robots, Bella," said Edward.

"Emmett, the number three guy has a weakness in his left side," I said while leaving them. My class had just ended so Angela and I went to the locker room.

"How do you know?" asked Angela.

"I was watching them playing just now." I walked towards the shower room. After I showered, I changed back to my clothes. It was lunch time after Gym. I walked to the food court and wasn't feeling very hungry. So, I ordered mixed fruits and berries smoothie. Luckily, it wasn't Eric behind the counter this time. I was eating happily when they came again.

"Are you seriously on diet?" asked Emmett.

"No. I wasn't feeling hungry."

"Oh. You're right. We continued to play for a while, and I managed to win by cutting to his left. How did you find out?" said Emmett while sitting opposite me.

"I watched just now. And it was obvious."

"And thanks to you, my team lost," said Edward.

"But my team won. Which was rare as Edward here likes to win," said Emmett while eating.

"Have you ever heard of 'eating with your mouth closed' or 'don't talk with your mouth full'?" I felt disgusted if anyone ate their food like that.

"Sorry." said Emmett after swallowing his food.

"Nice meeting you guys but I've to go for class now. Bye," I said politely.

My next class was Physics. And again, I kept my answers to myself. I was unlucky to have both Tanya and Lauren in my class. They were both stupid. They giggled every time and they kept asking stupid questions.

"Mr. Jared. Why do we have to learn Physics? It's useless." Tanya raised her hand.

"Because Miss Loring, Physics is important. We would not have what we have now if it isn't for Physics."

The rest of the class continued. It was so boring, with Tanya and Lauren asking stupid questions every five minutes. I was counting down the time class was over. At the last three minutes before the bell rang, I started packing up my books. When the bell rang, finally, I dashed out of the class.

I walked to my locker when I saw Mike leaning against my locker. Unfortunately, he saw me walking towards him. So, I could not turn back. Plus, my Biology is next and my books were in the locker.

"Hey, Bella. What's your next class?"

"Hi. Biology." I opened my locker quickly and grabbed my books.

"What a coincidence. I have Biology now too."

I just shrugged. I walked silently to the class. As I handed my slip to the teacher, I realized that Edward, Tanya and Lauren were in the same class as me too.

"Great. I'm stuck with them for the rest of the year," I muttered under my breath.

"Sit next to Edward, Bella," said Mr. Novingtam.

"What? Is there any other place?" I was impatient. I sat next to him in Maths and English but I could not take it if I had to sit next to him again for Biology.

"No. So sit there or be out of my class." I walked sulkily to the table.

"Why so sad?" asked Edward.

"Cus I'm stuck next to you for English, Maths and Biology."

"Am I that bad?" He gave me that crooked grin again.

"As the matter of fact, yes. So leave me alone. I have no choice but to sit next to you."

I was so glad when the class was over. I thought this school would be better than my previous school. I ran back to my room in case I bumped into Mike again.

I grabbed a strawberry yogurt muesli bar and ate while checking my email. There were a few junk emails and one from Jen. I clicked to open it.

_Hey Bella. Glad you like the school. It is a well known school. The meeting was successful. They accepted Nick's idea. And Nick added some of your ideas. And guess what? They liked yours too. So they are going to launch it soon after they discuss the plan. Soon, we are going to see the company expands to the whole world. Miss you so much. Bye!_

_Ps. Nick says he loves you for the ideas. He's planning you to be his apprentice._

I looked at the clock. 5.40 pm. I wanted to go for a jog so I decided to reply them next time. I changed my clothes and headed out to jog. I was jogging when my cell vibrated in my pocket. I looked at the screen and it was Nick.

"Hey, dad. What's up?" I slowed down my pace.

"Making sure that my little girl's ok."

"I'm fine, dad. Did you call me because you missed me?" I teased.

"You caught me. So how are you? How are the classes?"

"They are fine, dad. Like a normal school."

"Like a normal school? So there are bitches I assumed?" I laughed.

"Hmmm…I think there are. But they wouldn't dare to mess with me. I have you to protect me, right?" I teased.

Nick laughed. "So, the board decided to go on with our ideas. We are going to hire someone to design the clothes like you suggested to promote our company. Then, we also discussed to open another branch in Milan."

"Milan? So if you guys are having a party there, can I go? Please bring me along, daddy."

He chuckled, "I'll see."

"Fine. Be that way." I pouted even though he could not see it.

"I got to go now. Bye. Love you."

"Bye, dad. Love you too." I closed my cell and saw Edward standing in front of me. He was smiling with the crooked grin again.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked, feeling annoyed.

"Long enough." He smiled.

"How long is long enough?"

"Why can't you be that friendly to all of us?" I groaned. He must had been standing there all the while. I kept my cell in my pocket and started to jog away.

"Hey. Why don't we go and have dinner together now?" He ran and stood in front of me. I raised my eyebrow.

"Just as friends. Come on. We've got to be friends as we are partners in most of our classes. Please? For our future?" pleaded Edward.

"Fine. I need to ace in my studies."

We walked to the food court while talking. We ordered a bowl of ramen, lasagna, orange juice and apple juice. For the first time, we ate happily and were engaged in many conversations. Soon, we were laughing when we took turns to tell jokes.

"It's nice to know the other side of you, Bella," said Edward after we threw our rubbish.

"Appreciate it then. I only put my good face here just for my studies."

"Wow. You really will do anything for your studies?" asked Edward, feeling slightly amused.

"Yup. Do you want ice cream?" I walked towards Juice Works and found Eric was there again.

"Great," I muttered.

"Huh?"

"Hi. What do you want?" asked Eric.

"Lemon and lime sorbet please," I replied.

"I want chocolate chips." continued Edward. Eric passed us our ice cream and I was taking out my money when Edward stopped me.

"Let me pay,"

"I am capable for paying myself, Edward."

"Let me. Or I'll screw our grades together," threatened Edward.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Yup. So let me."

"Fine. You win."

"Hey. You still haven't called me," said Eric.

"I'm very busy." Edward chuckled beside me.

"Can I have your number then? I'll call you." Eric took out his cell.

"Sorry. But… I'm lesbian," I lied. I saw Edward biting his lips to stop himself from laughing. Then I saw a shocked look on Eric and I knew that I had won. As soon as we walked out, Edward laughed loudly. I playfully punched him at his arm.

"Lesbian? Are you crazy?" said Edward while laughing.

"That's the only excuse I could come up with which would throw him off," I shrugged.

"Yeah. But lesbian?" He continued laughing and I joined in too. We laughed so hard till I could feel my eyes were watery.

"Your dorm is the other side, Edward." I realized that he walked with me and we were near to the girl's dorm.

"I want to see Alice and Rosalie." We continued laughing and walking.

"Gosh. Other people must have been wondering how crazy we are," I said after I calmed down.

"You were the one who started it," said Edward innocently.

"But you were the one who started laughing at me being a lesbian comment."

"Ok. Blame me then. Here we are." I realized we had reached my room and I took out my keys to open the door.

**Pls review....Tell me what you think bout the story...**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own anything**

As I opened the door, I realized that everyone was there. Alice and Rosalie eyed at us as we entered the room. I threw my rubbish into the trashcan and went into my room. I took a long hot shower and changed into my pajamas. When I went to the living room, I found that Edward had left.

"Don't worry, Bella. Edward went to his room to shower. He would come by again," said Alice.

"Why would I worry?"

"Cus you seldom come out of your room. So I assumed you are looking for Edward," teased Alice.

"I was thirsty."

"Oh. Whatever you say, Bella." sang Alice. I grabbed a cup and filled it with water from the counter. As I was washing my cup, Edward came in.

"Hi, Bella. Did you miss me? Is that why you are out here instead of your room?" teased Edward.

"In your dreams, Edward." Edward placed his hand over to his chest, pretending to be hurt. As I opened my mouth to say something else, my cell rang. It was Jen.

"Hi, mom." I quickly walked to my room. Unfortunately, Edward stood in front of my door.

"Mom, could you hold for a second?" I asked.

"Sure. Why?"

"Cus there's this idiot blocking my way to my room. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to settle with him." I glared at him as I said those words.

"Please move away." I said to Edward.

"Why? I want to hear how you talk to your mum." I knew I would lose so I continued talking to Jen while all of them staring at me.

"Mom, can you make it quick? The idiot still don't want to move." I saw Edward mouth "ouch".

"Don't worry, honey. I'm just calling to say that I bought that issue of Teen Vogue. And you look gorgeous. There's even people calling for you," Jen said excitedly.

"I'll buy when I see one here. How do you know that there's people calling for me? I thought they don't write your phone numbers in it, mom," I said sarcastically.

"But they know Jean Bennett, your photographer. They wrote every photographer's name. So they called him and he called me," explained Jen.

"Right. Him. Great." I rolled my eyes. And I saw Edward was giggling in front of me.

"So are you interested? Your dad says it's up to you. We have to discuss it together."

"Interested in what, mom?" I was feeling a little anger as there were other people listening to the conversation and Edward was amused.

"Modeling. Part time of course. You still have school. But during weekends, we can pick you up for your photo shoots. There's Elle and some commercials. Can't remember. You have to ask Jean Bennett. And he's asking for you too. Something about the day has come? Anyway, I gave him your number. And Vogue wants you too."

"Mum," I groaned. Edward was laughing and I glared at him.

"Honey, think bout it."

"Ok. I'll think bout it. I have to go now. Bye."

"Bye. Love you."

"Love you too, mum." I closed my cell and sighed. Edward chuckled.

"I'm glad I amuse you, Cullen." I glared at him and he laughed harder.

"Move, Cullen." I wanted to go back to my room.

"Why do you talk friendlier to your dad than to your mum?"

"None of your business," I hissed.

"Wait. Edward, you stand in front of her door just to hear what she says?" asked Emmett.

"Yup. Cus she was super friendly when she talked to her father just now. So I wanted to see why she was unfriendly to all of us."

"Get lost."

"Ok ok." He put his two hands up in surrender. I went into my room and lied on the bed, thinking about what my mother had said just now. I felt exhausted so I fell asleep on my bed.

The next day wasn't any better. My classes were boring as usual. Edward kept staring at me during English and Math. Then, it was Gym. Coach Luthor and Mr. Waggart still combined their classes together. As I came out from the changing room, I saw Tanya, Lauren and Jessica standing in front of me.

"Hey, Bella. I was wondering, do you want to be a cheerleader?" asked Tanya.

"No, thanks." I walked away and found Angela at the bench.

"Hey, Angela."

"Hey. Mike was looking for you just now." She pointed to where Mike was.

"Great." I said sarcastically.

"Hey, Bella." Alice skipped and sat with us. Rosalie was talking to Emmett.

"Hi, Alice." Coach Luthor whistled, signaling all the players to gather. Rosalie walked towards us and sat with us.

"Great." I muttered. Mike was walking towards us. I kept my head down, hoping he wouldn't see me.

"Hey, Bella." I looked up and saw Mike.

"Bye, Mike."

"I said hi, Bella, not bye. I think you need your ears to be checked."

"I heard that. And you are blocking my view," I said sarcastically.

"To what? The practice?" asked Mike who seemed to be shocked.

"Yup. It's better seeing them and to see you."

"Ouch. Bella, you have to learn what you say."

"I mean it, Mike," I hissed.

"A sweet girl like you shouldn't say that, Bella," he said seductively.

"Eww, Mike. You really gross me out," I gagged. I saw Alice, Rosalie and Angela laughed beside me.

"You really are rude, Bella." He brushed my left cheeks. It made me felt disgusted.

"Whatever. Do you want me to kick you out from here?"

"You're a girl. And I'm a guy. How hard can you kicked me?" I kicked to his crotch, proving him that I could kicked him. He yelped and everyone looked at him. Alice, Rosalie and Angela were laughing hysterically.

"Sorry, girls. He might not be able to go out with you guys for a while," I yelled to the audience in Gym.

"Everyone, go back to your own work," instructed Coach Luthor. Mike walked away, probably to the washroom.

"Why did you do that for, Bella?" asked Angela. I could see her eyes were watery.

"He made a comment on girls. He's so sexist," I answered. We continued talking and I realized that Rosalie loved drums while Alice and Angela loved guitars. Then, we talked about making a band.

"Is there a music room here?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'll show you where it is later if you want," answered Angela.

"Sure. Thanks." We went to the locker room. After showering and changing back to my clothes, I saw Tanya, Lauren and Jessica standing in front of me again.

"Bella, that is a wonderful work to kick Mike just now," said Tanya.

"Thanks."

"Bella, why don't you want to join the cheerleading squad?"

"Cus I'm not interested."

"You will regret it, Bella."

"No, she won't, Tanya. And aren't you the one who always hang out with Mike?" Alice joined in. Rosalie and Angela were behind her.

"Alice. It's up to her. Don't you pollute her mind," hissed Tanya.

"She has nothing to do with this. I'm simply not interested." I was getting frustrated. I was feeling hungry and wanted to grab my lunch.

"But you are interested in modeling?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw you in Teen Vogue. You will be famous if you hang out with us, not these losers." Tanya pointed to them.

"Why? You are not famous to me." I was full of rage.

"You-you-you," stammered Tanya.

"You will regret this," hissed Lauren.

"Finally you talked, Lauren. Have been wondering who you have sold your voice to," I said.

"Bella…This is war between us. You chose it," hissed Tanya.

"Whatever, Tanya." I walked away, heading to the food court.

"Wow, Bella. That was brave. But you wouldn't want to be involved with them," said Angela.

"Lets not be bothered by them. I'm starving. Lets eat," I suggested. We went to the food court and Rosalie invited the guys to join along. I ordered pizza with Coke. We sat down and the guys came fifteen minutes later. Alice told the guys what happened in the locker room. They were laughing loudly and everyone else looked at our table. I ate my lunch while talking with Angela.

"Whoa. Not on diet anymore?" teased Emmett.

"Oh. I'm on diet. Pizza is in my diet," I said sarcastically. However, Emmett had to take some time to let my sarcasm sink in him.

"Did you really kicked him, Bella?" asked Jasper. I nodded.

"Why?" asked Edward.

"Cus he's a jerk?" All of them laughed. I looked at them, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh, so sorry Bella. It's just that every girl in this school seemed to fall for him," answered Rosalie.

"Well, almost every girl. Except for us girls," continued Alice.

"Bella, did you really modeled for Teen Vogue?" asked Angela.

"Yeah. Only once."

"Wow. I'm going to buy that issue now." She got up and went to the nearest shop. She came back running to our table. She flipped through the magazine and finally found my pictures.

"Wow. You look awesome, Bella," said Angela.

"Thanks." Soon, the magazine was passed around the table and all of them praised me. While Emmett and Edward were looking at the magazine, my cell rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bella. It's me, Jean. You do remember me, right?"

"Oh hi, Jean. What's up?" I knew what he was going to say next.

"The day has come, my dear. So when are you free?"

"Free for what, Jean?" I asked innocently.

"To make a portfolio, my dear. I received so many calls. Your mother called me last night, telling me that she had told you about it. So, when are you free?"

"Jean, I'm still in school."

"But there are weekends. Come on, you are fun to work with," pleaded Jean.

"Ok. Let's make a deal. I only do photo shoots if you really need me and if you are the photographer. Deal?"

"Why? You can make a career, Bella."

"Please? Or no photo shoots at all."

"Ok. You win. I'll call your parents to give them details if I need you. Thanks, Bella. Call me when you change your mind."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye." I shut the phone and saw all of them staring at me.

"Was that Jean Bennett? The one who took photographs of you in this magazine?" asked Alice.

"Yup." I closed my eyes and sighed. I banged my head lightly on the table for a few times.

Edward chuckled, "Bella, if you keep doing that, you're going to lose some brain cells. And I don't need a partner with less brain cells."

"Get lost, Cullen," I groaned. We all walked together to the school building. My next class was Physics. I had to endure the class with Tanya and Lauren in it. After Physics, I went to Biology lab. Biology was not much better. Mr. Novingtam was a boring teacher. He taught the facts with a dry voice, making Biology as a boring subject to learn. I dashed out of the class the second the bell rang. I couldn't wait to get away from the class.

I was walking in the hallway when I ran into Alice, Rosalie and Angela. We talked again about making a band. It sounded like a good idea to me. Then, just as my luck, Mike came.

"Hey, Bella. I would forget everything that happen during Gym if you go out with me. Are you free tomorrow?" asked Mike.

"Nope." I started to walk away when he grabbed my arm.

"Then, I will lodge a complain on you kicking me."

"Then, I'll call my lawyer. You'll have a visit from the police tomorrow for harassing me and I kicked you as a self-defense move. Sexual harassment is against the law, you know. It will not look good in your report."

"You wouldn't dare," hissed Mike.

"Try me." I took out my cell to prove that I wasn't kidding.

"Ok. I'll go. Jeez. You should try go out with me." said Mike as he was leaving me alone.

"Do you really have a lawyer?" asked Alice.

"Nope."

"Then, why…"

"Just to threaten him. Can't he take a hint that he's a jerk?" The three of them laughed. We walked separate ways. Angela wanted to go back to her room while Alice and Rosalie wanted to go to the mall.

I walked towards my locker and chucked my books in . As I was walking, I passed by the Gym room. I peeked inside and no one was inside. I went in and stood in the middle of the basketball court. We did not play any games on this floor as the school's basketball players had to train themselves for upcoming matches.

"If they are hardworking to practice during Gym, why aren't they practicing after classes too?" I wondered to myself. I saw basketballs everywhere on the floor. I picked up one and I felt nostalgic. I missed playing with Aaron, Drew, my dad and Nick. It was fun playing with them. I bounced the ball and found that it was a good ball. I threw the basketball and it went into the hoops perfectly. I walked a few steps back and tried again. It went in neatly.

I ran to the bench and dumped my bag on it. I went to collect a few basketballs which were lying on the floor and threw them into the basket which kept all the basketballs. Why not help Coach Luthor to clean up the mess while having fun? At first it was an easy task. Then, it was harder. The basketball would bounce on the other basketballs and land onto the floor again.

Soon, I gave up and put all the basketballs back into the basket properly. Then, I grabbed a basketball to practice shooting hoops. Each time when I managed to throw in, I would stand at different places to test my skills. After all, I had my father's blood in me.

"Great job." I heard someone clapping while saying those words. I turned around and saw someone at the door. I groaned. I didn't want anyone to see me playing basketball.

**Pls review. Thanx to the people who reviewed. You know who you are:)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own anything**

I dropped the basketball and ran to the bench. I grabbed my bag and started walking.

"Hey. I'm not a monster. Why are you running away?"

"I've got stuff to do," I replied.

"But it seems a minute ago, you don't have stuff to do."

"I just remembered that I have.""You played well just now. Do you play often?"

"It was fairly ok." As I continued walking, he stopped in front of me.

"What now?" I asked.

"You haven't given me a proper hello just now."

"Hi, Emmett."

"Hi, Bella." I continued walking but he stopped me again. I look at him with a questioning look.

"Want to play one on one match?" asked Emmett. He grabbed a basketball without waiting for me to say anything.

"Come on. Loser treats dinner. Deal?"

"Fine." I agreed. I weighed my options. He was a school basketball player and I was just an amateur. He would win this game easily. However, if I didn't play, he wouldn't let me get out of the room.

I put my bag at the bench and joined him at the middle of the room. The game was intense. I quickly found his weakness and used it as advantage. We soon reached to the point game. He had the basketball and threw to the hoops. It went in neatly. He started to do his victory dance. He looked like silly bear trying to dance. I laughed while watching him.

"What are you laughing at? You do know that you just lost the match? You have to treat me dinner later. And I warn you, I eat a lot. So be prepared to spend lots of your money." I laughed harder until I was crouching on the floor.

"You are absolutely insane, Bella." He chuckled and picked up the basketball. He walked towards the basket and put the basketball back. He looked like Aaron. He played like Aaron, walked like him and they two even danced their victory dance if they won.

"Earth to Bella." He waved his hand in front of me.

"Yeah?"

"I called you like five times just now. What was on your mind just now?"

"You looked like someone I knew." I blurted it out before I knew it. I cursed myself. I had not told anyone about my past and I nearly told about Aaron to Emmett.

"Really? Who?" He walked towards me.

"Someone I loved." I blurted it out again. _Shut your mouth, Bella, before you tell your past to someone you hardly know_. I scolded myself.

"Oh. I thought you would say someone famous or something like that." I laughed.

"Lets go. I want to have a delicious dinner and it will be your treat." He shook his head. We walked out of the room together and went our own ways to our rooms. I opened my door and saw Edward, Jasper, Rosalie and Alice were there.

"Where were you just now?" asked Alice.

"Wondering around. I thought you were going to the mall?"

"Yeah. But Rosalie suddenly doesn't feel like shopping."

'Oh." I walked into my room and had a quick shower. I wore a simple shirt that had a "Stop staring at me" slogan across the shirt and shorts. I walked out of my room just as Emmett walked into the room.

"Hey, Bella." He waved his hand.

"Hey." I smiled at him.

"Be prepared for dinner later," said Emmett.

"You won't be able to scare me easily, big guy."

"We'll see."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Alice.

"Oh, we were…" Emmett couldn't finish his sentence as I quickly placed my hands at his mouth. He tried to bite my hands and I yanked my hands away.

"What was that for?" asked Emmett.

"We were just betting just now." I answered to Alice's question. Rosalie narrowed her eyes and sent me a glare.

"Lets go for dinner. Are you with us, Bella?" asked Jasper.

"Yeah."

I grabbed Emmett and whispered, "If you tell anyone about what happened just now, you will regret it." I pushed Emmett to Rosalie and walked behind all of them to the food court.

Emmett was right. I thought I was prepared but he proved me wrong. He ordered a large pizza, a basket of fries, a plate of chicken chop and a large cup of coke. He was eating so much as though as he had not been eating for the past three days.

"Hey. What were you guys betting on just now?" asked Rosalie.

"Err..We were betting on how much we could eat. Of course Emmett won. I didn't know he could eat a lot," I replied. I hoped Rosalie would buy those words.

"Is it true, Emmett?" Rosalie turned to him.

"Err.." Emmett was struggling because Rosalie was looking at him seductively. I kicked Emmett's leg to bring him back to reality.

"Ouch. Yeah. We bet on who could eat the most food."

"Bella, how could you bet something like that with Emmett? He eats like a buffalo," said Jasper.

"I don't know. I assumed I could eat more." I smiled at him and continued to eat my spaghetti.

I went back to my room after dinner. They wanted to play bowling at the mall. I changed into my pajamas and switched my laptop on. I checked my email and replied some of it. Then, I went into my closet and took out the only picture I had saved from the house that night.

"Emmett does look like Aaron," I thought to myself. I traced my family's faces on the picture and kept it in my closet safely. Then, I took out the bracelet. I would be able to wear it soon. I was going to turn sixteen this year. I glanced at the clock and decided that I should sleep. I walked to the bed and fell asleep.

The next few days were typical. Tanya and her gang were always in my way while Mike managed to walk away from me. Alice, Rosalie and Angela were in process of making a band. They even had the teacher's permission to use the music room whenever they wanted as long as it wasn't in use. They started practicing but they didn't know what song to start with.

"We need a singer," whined Alice.

"In this case, I have to agree with you. We do need a singer. Whichever songs we played don't sound nice without a singer," said Angela.

"Yeah. We tried singing together. We can sing but not good enough to make the band work," continued Rosalie.

They were talking among themselves outside my room. I wanted to grab an ice cream so I walked out of my room.

"Hey, Bella. Where are you going?" She pointed to my keys.

"I want to grab an ice cream. Do you guys want one?" I asked.

"I want tiramisu, please," replied Angela. I looked at Rosalie and Alice.

"Mixed berries for me." Rosalie smiled.

"I want chocolate chips. Thanks, Bella." I walked to Juice Works and found Eric was there.

"Hey. One strawberry sorbet, one tiramisu, one mixed berries and one chocolate chips." Eric silently took the orders and handed the ice cream to me.

"Thanks." I walked back to the room and found the guys were there too.

"Sorry, guys. I didn't know you were coming so I didn't buy any ice cream for you." I handed the girls' ice cream and sat onto the couch. Angela went back to her room after taking her ice cream to finish some of her homework.

"Lets watch a movie," suggested Alice. She went to the television and picked out Bedtime Stories. Edward sat next to me on the couch. Alice and Jasper were cuddling each other on the other side of the couch. Rosalie and Emmett sat on the floor. The movie was hilarious. All the crazy stories that the children made up came true.

After the movie, I was tired and sleepy. And it was only 11.30 pm. I said my goodbyes to the guys and went into my room to sleep. The next day, the girls practiced in the music room. I decided to follow them to give them my support.

"Wow. This room is huge. It has everything." I entered the room and found every music instrument which you could name. Alice and Angela picked up the guitars and Rosalie went to the drums.

"Lets try 'I Caught Myself' by Paramore." They started playing and I sat at the corner of the room. They were good but they were right. They needed a singer. I sang the song before with my guitar alone. But I wasn't going to sing for them. Only Nick and Jen knew my talent for music.

"Lets put up an audition to find a singer," suggested Alice.

"Looks like we have too. Do you know anyone who can sing?" asked Angela.

"No." We said together. Soon, I helped them to planned the audition. We went back to the room and took out Alice's laptop to design the flyer. Alice designed the flyer in a super short time and we loved it. Then, we went to the food court to meet with the guys and grab some lunch.

"Everyone. This is my boyfriend, Ben." Angela introduced a guy who was slightly shorter than her. His hair was black and his eyes were dark brown. The eight of us sat and ordered our lunch. Ben was a nice guy, just like Angela. Soon, the three couples talked to each other as though as they were alone. Edward and I was left in an awkward situation.

"Do you want ice cream?" asked Edward.

"Sure." I wanted to get away from that table. It was weird to see how your friends went goo-goo with their loved ones.

"Hey. What do you want?" asked Eric.

"I want apple with orange sorbet."

"Chocolate with cookies for me," replied Edward. Edward paid for the ice cream and we decided to walk around the park.

"Tell me a little about yourself," said Edward.

"You tell me about you first," I replied. There was no way I would tell him about me and knew nothing about him.

"Lets make it this way. I ask one question and you ask one question."

Ok." I agreed.

"What's your full name?"

"Isabelle Anne Mischaux. You?"

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. When's your birthday?"

"September thirteen. What's your ambition?"

"Doctor. Tell me something about your parents."

"They are funny and caring. Why don't you have a girlfriend? I mean, you are the basketball team captain and you are famous in this school."

"Haven't found the right girl. Why are you two complete different person when you are talking to your parents and to us?"

I shrugged. I wasn't expecting that question.

"That wasn't an answer. So tell me why. Did we offend you accidentally which we don't know about?"

"No. It's not like that." He stopped walking and looked at me.

"Then?" he asked.

"I have trouble opening up to people. I learn the hard way to not trust people easily." I sighed.

"What happened?"

"Lets not ask something personal, ok?" He nodded.

"Why are you interested in knowing something about me?" I asked.

"Cus you are hard to read. I can see easily in other people's face but not you."

"Can we stop this asking-questions-to-know-each-other-better?"

"Sure. What are you planning to do? I hope not back to them. They were so engrossed in each other."

"Anything but that." I walked towards the swing and sat on it. He sat on the swing beside me.

"The sky is so nice. The moon is so bright." I was staring up in the sky. It was one of the cloudless sky with full moon and hundreds of twinkling stars. I looked to my right and saw Edward staring at me.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I asked. He chuckled.

"No. It's just that I haven't seen you smile like that before. You are so calm, peaceful, beautiful…" Did he just call me beautiful? I must had been dreaming. I had to pay attention if someone talked to me next time.

"It's late. Lets go back." He stood up and held out his arm. I took his arm and walked back to my room. The others were back in the room when we went in. They looked at us and went back to the television. They were watching another movie.

"Good night, Bella."

"Nights." I walked into my room and changed into my pajamas. I realized that I had not been rude to Edward that night. In fact, I was polite and fun. I even answered his questions about me without bombing him any of my rudeness.

"Bella! Open this door!" I could hear Alice shouting at the door. I reluctantly open the door.

"What's up?"

"You are going shopping with us." Alice walked into the room and started ransacking my cupboard. I looked at the clock.

"Alice! It's only 9 in the morning. And it's Saturday. I want to sleep in." I walked to my bed and lied on it.

"No, you don't. Rosalie! I need help! Bella's not waking up!" Alice was screaming across the room. Rosalie quickly came in and dragged me to the bathroom. I took a quick cold shower to wake me up. Then, I walked back into my room.

"Wear those clothes on the bed and sit on this chair." Alice was setting up my table. I quickly wore my Gucci dress with my Converse sneakers. I went to the table and shrieked. They set my table to be a make-up table.

"Girls, can we not do make-up?" I asked.

"Of course not." Rosalie pushed me to sit on the chair. She worked on my make-up while Alice worked on styling my hair. About fifteen minutes later, I stood in front of the full length mirror. I was amazed. I looked completely different.

"Wow." That was all I could say.

"Yup. You are pretty, Bella. Now we need to get to the mall and shop for some clothes." I hate going to the mall but if this was the way to spend time with my room mates then I would have to do it. Plus, I need to start opening up myself to other people. After hours of shopping, we managed to reach back into our room.

"Rosalie. Alice. I'm sorry about the way I behaved earlier on. I mean, since I arrived here, I was cold towards you. You two are nice but I wasn't adjusting to my new life yet."

"It's ok. We knew you come to us soon." They hugged me and we were smiling happily. I had made up my mind to make some efforts to make friends last night.

"My leg sore like hell. Aren't you two sore at all?" Rosalie and Alice shook their heads. They made me buy dozens of clothes, accessories, shoes…My hands were sore from carrying so many bags. It was my first time shopping with them and I didn't know it would end up like this.

I fell asleep on my bed after removing my make-up. I was having a dream again. When I woke up, my eyes were puffy and red. I heard someone was knocking on my door. I opened the door and saw Edward.

"Hey. We are going out for dinner. Want to join?" Then he saw my eyes.

"What happened to you? Your eyes are red." I could sense concern in his voice.

"Just give me a minute to wash up." I locked my door and went into the bathroom. I quickly wash up my face and joined them for dinner. Edward and I volunteered to buy the food for them.

We came back to the table with tons of food. I sat between Edward and Alice. I ate my dinner quietly and thought about my dream.

"Bella." Alice waved her hand in front of me.

"Yeah?"

"We just said that we are going to play a game of bowling. Want to come along?"

"No, thanks. I'm a bit tired."

"I'll walk Bella back to her room," said Edward.

"Ok. See you later."

"You don't have to walk with me," I said after the four of them left.

"I know. I want to." Edward walked beside me.

"So, what happened just now? You haven't answered me," said Edward.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"What happened which cause your eyes to be puffy and red?"

"I…."

**Is the story ok? Pls review. Thanks to the people who reviewed. Love you guys so much!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Merry Christmas everyone!!**

**Let me clear some stuff in case some of you were wondering the same thing.**

**Uncle Karl and Bella's father, Charlie were best friends since high school. Bella wants to go to the bottom of why did Uncle Karl killed her family, not who Uncle Karl was.**

**I Caught Myself by Paramore is not really hard to play. You just need two guitars and drums of course. The guitars parts are ok, as in the chords can be heard easily. The drums, however need to be fast and that was more to Rosalie's style. And it sounds hard because the sounds of the guitars and drums are mashed up together.**

**From the summary of the story, Bella will slowly open up. But of course little by little. And Edward will be the one who will help her open up.**

**If you guys have any questions, ask away. I'll be glad to answer them to avoid confussion in this story. Now, the story continues...**

**I do not own anything**

"I…" Edward stopped walking and looked at me, waiting for an answer.

"I was having a bad dream."

"I have never seen someone having red puffy eyes after their bad dreams."

"Well, I have." We looked each other on the eyes. His eyes were green. He had high cheekbones, strong jaw line, a strong nose and full lips. _Oh my god. I must be crazy studying his face._

"Let's just go back. I'm tired," I said, breaking off the silence.

"Ok." We walked to my room silently. Somehow, the silence wasn't awkward at all. Finally, we reached at the door. I took out my keys and opened the door.

"Good night. See you tomorrow." I closed the door behind me and headed to my room. I changed into my pajamas and slept on my bed.

The next day was Sunday. I had to finish my homework which was piling like a mountain. I switched on my laptop and played the songs on my playlist. I couldn't do my homework without listening to music. Before I knew it, it was lunch time. I saw Alice and Rosalie at the food court. They waved at me, inviting me to join them.

"Hey. How was your morning?" asked Alice.

"Hey. Homework was disaster. I didn't know I had so much homework piling on me." I told them that I was planning to do my homework when they decided to make another shopping trip that morning. Jasper, Emmett and Edward came back with food.

"Hey, Bella. How was your homework?" asked Jasper.

"It was dreadful. How did you know I was doing my homework this morning?"

"Alice and Rosalie asked us to go shopping with them. They told me that you were doing homework. Hence, we need to accompany them and carry their bags." I was laughing so hard that I had to clutch the table with both my hands. They were staring at me, waiting for an explanation.

"I'm sorry. It's just that they two are seriously professional at shopping. They managed to buy the whole store in just a minute. How many bags did you carry this time?"

"A lot. How did you know they were shopaholics?"

"They took me out once. And I ended up with buying so many stuff that can put me away from shopping at least for a year."

"Aahhhh! Don't say that! You need to go shopping at least once a week," said Alice while looking at Rosalie.

"Yup. A girl has to do what she has to do. And one of it is shopping," continued Rosalie.

"Well, I'm not most girls. And the last time I went shopping with you guys, my legs sore like hell." They guys laughed and I shot them a glare.

"And you three like to shop too?" I asked sarcastically.

"No. It's just that we've always seen their love for shopping. It's the first time we see another perspective," answered Edward.

"I'm going to get some food. I'm starving." I got up and left the table. I was ordering carbonara when I noticed Edward was standing beside me.

"I thought you have ordered your food."

"Yeah. But I want to accompany you. Besides, I need to leave the lovebirds alone at the table," replied Edward. I looked over my shoulders and he was right. The four of them were occupied in each other. Edward had insisted in holding my food tray. I knew he wouldn't give up so I just let him carry it.

"You two look so cute together," commented Alice.

"Alice." Edward's tone was serious. I looked at Alice, then Edward. There was something going on between those two. I was going to find out later in the room when the guys are gone.

"Hey. Do you want to play basketball later?" asked Emmett.

"Sure. I'll call the others," answered Jasper. Edward nodded.

"We're going to watch you play then," said Rosalie.

"I'm going for a jog later. I'll watch you guys play when I pass by." I had decided to jog that day as I hadn't jogged for a few days now. I finished my lunch and continued my homework. After I was finished with my homework, I went to check my emails. I replied some and went to changed into a proper attire to jog. I grabbed my iPod along.

I was jogging at the park when I carefully listened to the song. I listened to the lyrics and found them applying to my life now. It was 'Friends Forever' by Vitamin C.

_As we go on, __we remember _

_All the times we had together _

_And as our lives change _

_Come whatever, _

_We will still be friends forever_

I didn't have much friends when I was in the private school I went. Now in Colorado High School, I had Alice, Rosalie, Angela, Edward, Emmett and Jasper. I didn't expect to make friends when I first arrived here. Now, everything had changed. I managed to make friends and socialize more than I ever had. I would remember them as my friends even when our lives changed.

I jogged towards the basketball court which was at the end of the park. The guys were still playing while the girls were reading fashion magazine. I took out my headphones and sat at the bench with them.

"Hey. What's the score?" I asked.

"I don't know. I think Edward's team is leading," answered Rosalie. I watched the game for a while. Emmett and Jasper were in a team with another guy. Suddenly, I saw a ball coming to me. I shot out my hands and caught the ball neatly.

"Hey. Nice catch," commented one of the guys which I didn't recognize.

"Well, I don't want the ball land straight to my head." They guys laughed. Emmett was looking at me. I glared at him, challenging him to not say a word about that day.

"Most girls will scream if a ball is thrown towards them." It was another guy this time.

"Well, I'm not most girls." I threw the ball at Edward and he caught it. He grinned.

"Nice throw. Played basketball before?" he asked.

"I need to go." I got up from the bench. Emmett was running towards me.

"Why don't you tell people that you play?" he asked in a low voice.

"Cus I don't want to." I saw Rosalie at the corner of my eyes. She was suspecting something. I jogged back to my room and bathed. When I walked out of my room, I saw Alice and Rosalie sitting on the couch. Rosalie seemed mad while Alice looked concerned.

"Hey. What's up?" I asked.

"Bella. Do you like Emmett?" asked Rosalie.

"Of course." Emmett was like a brother I never had. Rosalie's face fell.

"You do?" asked Alice.

"Yeah. He's like a big brother to me." They both sighed in relief.

"Why? You two look weird." Were they thinking that I might actually like Emmett as in like like?

"I thought you like him as in…" Rosalie tried to explain. I laughed and joined them at the couch.

"I don't have a brother. Somehow, Emmett's like a brother I never have," I explained.

"Yeah. He's one big bear who can be anyone's brother."

"Was that the reason why you keep staring at me when I talk to him?" Rosalie nodded.

"You silly girl. I will never steal him away from you. Besides, he's not my type."

"Then, what's your type?" asked Alice.

"I don't know. I'll know when I see one." They looked at each other and I could see something mischievous going on in their eyes. I remembered something and planned to ask Alice.

"Alice, what was going on with you and Edward? What did you guys know which I don't?" I asked.

"Nothing," Alice sang innocently.

"I'll figure it out one day, Alice."

"I'm sure you will. It's just the matter of time." I looked at Rosalie, hoping she would give me an answer.

"Don't look at me. I don't know anything."

"Yeah, right," I said sarcastically.

It was Thursday. I still had not figured out what Alice had been hiding. I tried to stay average in my classes. Edward kept looking at me, wondering why I did it. I purposely made some wrong answers and only he knew since he was sitting beside me.

"I still don't get you, Bella." It was after Math.

"You knew every answer to the quiz just now but you decide to put some wrong answers," he continued.

"I feel like doing it," I lied. I didn't like to be the centre of attention. I also didn't like to be labeled as a nerd or anything else. I walked with Edward to Gym. Couch Luthor and Mr. Waggart decided to combine class again as next week would be the first basketball match for this year. I headed to the locker room and saw Angela was just getting ready. I quickly changed into my clothes and walked with Angela to the room.

"Everyone, listen up." Coach Luthor whistled, causing everyone to drop whatever stuff they were doing.

"All of you are going to run four and a half laps at the field. Mr. Waggart and I will take your time. This will go into your record." We went out to the field and started to warm up. The cheerleaders, however, took their time and slowly strut to the field. After fifteen minutes, Coach Luthor signaled us to start jogging.

"Girls, you have to jog too. This is a must." The cheerleaders had not started their lap. They were talking to each other, thinking that only we, the normal students, had to take the fitness test.

"Why? I mean, we cheer a lot. That was a lot of exercise. I'm sure that will excuse us from running with them," whined Tanya.

"Everyone must complete the fitness test. I suggest you to start now or I'll fail you for Gym. And by that time, you have to say goodbye to your cheerleading," threatened Coach Luthor.

I managed to jog with a group of students in front. Alice, Angela and Rosalie jogged together behind me. Four and a half laps were nothing to me. I jogged almost everyday and hence, I had stamina. I soon caught up with the basketball players in front. They were leading as all basketball players and stamina had to come together. There was no such thing as a basketball player without stamina.

"Hey. You're not bad. Guess I shouldn't be surprised," said Emmett. I was jogging beside him and Edward was in front.

"What do you mean?"

"You play basketball. And now you manage to jog with us. It's the first time in history that a girl have ever catch up with us."

"Well, like I said before, I'm not most girls."

"Yeah. I figured that out. You are certainly not most girls."

"As much as I want to chat with you, but I want to jog. Bye." I quicken my pace. I looked over my shoulders and saw Emmett shaking his head. I soon caught up with Edward and jogged beside him.

"Hey."

"Hey. Wow. You have quite a stamina," said Edward.

"What's wrong with girls with stamina?" First it was Emmett, now Edward.

"Nothing. It's just that it's rare. I have to admit, no girls have managed to jog as fast as me."

"You egotistic arrogant fellow." He chuckled. I looked at him. He was being serious.

"Are you kidding me? Not a single girl?" I asked after I soon realized that he didn't lie.

"Yup."

"Is it that hard to jog?"

"It's not hard. It's just that girls only take up cheerleading as an exercise and the only sport. You, on the other hand, should consider the track team. The school needs people like you."

"I jog for the fun of it. I don't like it if it's serious." I liked playing basketball and jogging but I wouldn't like it if I had to play to win.

"You are definitely not most girls." We soon managed to finish the four and a half laps and were among the first to finish it.

"Mischaux, you are good. Are you in the school's track team?" asked Coach Luthor after he took my time.

"Thanks, Coach. I'm not in the team."

"You should consider. Our school would love to have you in."

"No, thanks. I have lots of stuff to do," I lied. Edward was trying his best to not laugh beside me. Once he was gone to take other students' time, Edward burst out laughing.

"See, I told you. You really should consider," he said after he stopped laughing.

"And like I said before, I'm not interested."

"Hey. Good run," commented Emmett.

"Thanks. Is there other girl who can run? I mean there's the girls track team, right?" I couldn't believe that there was not a single girl who could run.

"There is. But not as good as you," said Edward.

"You know, flattery doesn't get you anywhere."

"I'm not. As much as you want to be flattered, I'm telling you the truth."

"Yeah, even the basketball game. You are unbelievable," said Emmett.

"What basketball game?" asked Edward. I realized that Emmett had accidentally said about the basketball game.

"Err…" Emmett was trying to come up with an answer.

"I think he meant the game which made you lost. The one when I pointed one of the guy's weakness," I said, trying to safe myself. I glared at Emmett.

"Yeah. That was it. I have to go. Bye." Emmett quickly rushed off to Rosalie.

"That guy is funny sometimes," commented Edward.

"Yeah." I was lucky that Edward didn't figure out that I played basketball. I did not want any sexist comment on how girls should do girls' stuff instead of playing basketball. In my ex-school, I played basketball. That turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes I had ever done in that school. The girls started to do everything they could to make my life miserable. The boys on the other hand kept on teasing on how my gender was messed up.

After grabbing a quick lunch, I went to class for Physics. I was early. I saw Tanya and Lauren at their table, gossiping as usual. When I took my seat, they approached me.

"Hey. Don't think that you can run means you can have Edward," said Tanya. Was she that shallow?

"Are you seriously crazy?"

"No. And don't mess with me. Edward is mine."

"Edward doesn't belong to anyone. And you are not the one who decides for him."

"Everyone knows that the head cheerleader and the captain of the basketball team go together. It will happen soon. We will be together." They went back to their seats as the bell rang. The class was dull with them shooting glances to me. Next was Biology. I had to endure them for another class.

"Hey. Ready for Biology?" asked Edward. He was standing at the door, waiting for me to keep my Physics books.

"Sure. And I have to warn you, Tanya has already claimed you as hers. Since when were you a possession?"

"That girl is crazy. I had to push her away so many times but she doesn't get it."

"Well, all the best to you then." We both went to our seats and Mr. Novingtam explained the respiratory system of frogs. It was boring as Mr. Novingtam explained the facts in one tone of voice. When the bell rang, Tanya and Lauren walked to Edward.

"Hey, Edward. Do you want to do something tonight?" asked Tanya. She was bending down, trying to get Edward's attention to her fake boobs.

"I'm busy." He quickly kept his books. I kept all my books and was watching Tanya trying to get his attention.

"Then, what about tomorrow?"

"I have stuff to do, Tanya."

"Well, call me when you are free. I'm free anytime," she said seductively. After she left, I was laughing hysterically.

"I assume it's funny?" asked Edward.

"You have no idea. That girl was desperate. She was trying to make you look at her boobs."

"Yeah. Anyway, what are you doing tonight?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Want to do something together?"

"I thought you are busy."

"You know perfectly well that I was trying to get her away from me." We continued talking while walking back to my room. Alice had called all of us to meet. She wanted to discuss something. I hoped it was something which was worth discussing.

**So...i know most of you will be wondering whether Bella will tell Edward about the dream. Now you have it. So pls review. I love you guys who reviewed. I was ecstatic when i received reviews from you guys for chapter 6. You all made my day:) Remember to review!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews. I'm so sorry for not updating soon. I was super busy since school started. So i would not be able to update as often as i used to. I'm so sorry!! I was rushing to finish this chapter. I hope it's ok.**

**_I do not own anything._**

After the make-up artist was done with us, we had to change our clothes. Mine was a white sleeveless dress with form-fitting bodice and flowing skirt. It buckled at empire waist and flowed until just above my knees.

"Alice, you look…" There were no words to describe how she looked like. Hers was a white and black polka dots mini dress. It had a split plunge V neckline with super romantic and classy black lace neckline trim. When Rosalie came out, Emmett was whistling.

"Wow, you look gorgeous," Emmett said. Rosalie was wearing a sexy yet stylish mini dress. It was a halter style dress with pearl and bead neck jewelry. The halter straps were adorned with pearls and beads and hooked together with a lobster clasp in the back. The dress had a sexy deep V neckline and was attached with a neck jewelry that had gold tassel which hung down at her bust. The dress hugged her body perfectly.

The guys were wearing tux with their ties hanging loosely around their necks. Jean walked towards us while whistling at us.

"Hey, gorgeous ladies. Guys, you look handsome."

"Hey, Jean," we chorused together.

"We're going to start the photo shoot outside of the cabin since we have the perfect sunlight now. Who wants to start first?" Alice raised her hand excitedly and so she started first. Alice and Jasper took photographs together as a couple and a few individually. The rest of us went inside the cabin and talked among ourselves while waiting for our turn.

"This place is so nice. It's the perfect getaway for any romantic occasion." I rolled my eyes. It was indeed a perfect place for some romance but I didn't believe in romance.

"And you don't agree?" Edward asked.

"It is a nice place for romance but…"

"But you don't believe in romance and hence the Valentine's Day," Edward cut in. I nodded. I saw Jen at the kitchen of the cabin so I walked to her.

"Hey, mom."

"Hey. Your friends are really nice. Especially Edward."

"Mom," I groaned.

"I'm just saying. Bella, there are guys interested in you but you seem to push them away."

"Because those guys are jerks."

"But Edward isn't."

"Mom, stop playing the match making game. And I'll tell dad to watch out as his wife here is drooling over a guy who is half her age," I joked. Jen joined me laughing.

"Bella, I just want you to be happy."

"I am, mom."

"Ok. I've got to go. Nicole needs me."

"Go do your super secretary work, mom," I joked. I walked back to the living room. Alice and Jasper were back while Rosalie and Emmett were outside.

"Hey, how was it?" I asked Alice.

"It was so fun. I'm so glad you bring all of us here." Alice ran and hugged me.

"Yeah. I remembered the first time I did it. Jean is the best photographer you can ever get."

"Where's your mom?" Edward asked.

"She has to do some work so she left." Soon, Alice was describing how the photo shoot was and Jasper was agreeing with her all the while. I was so glad of my decision to bring them here. I looked around the room and found a guitar at the corner of the room. I stood up and picked it up.

"Hey, whose guitar is this?" I asked one of the assistants.

"It's for the photo shoot."

"Can I use it for a while?"

"Sure. They are not using it now." I took the guitar and headed to one of the bedrooms. I closed the door behind me and sat on the bed. I tried playing a few chords. I could feel that the guitar was seldom used. After playing a few chords, I started singing.

_You only get one life to work it_

_So who cares if it's not perfect_

_I say it's close enough to perfect for me_

_Why should you hide from the thunder_

_And the lightening that your under_

_Cause there ain't nobody else you want to be_

_If how your living isn't working_

_There's one thing that will help_

_You gotta finally just stop searching_

_To find yourself_

I was pouring my heart out singing the song until I didn't hear the door had opened. I stopped abruptly when I sensed that someone was watching me. I looked up to see who was at the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"You have a great voice."

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough."

"How long is your 'long enough'?" He gave me his crooked grin.

"Fine then. But you haven't answered my first question. What are you doing here?"

"We are next. Emmett and Rosalie are done." I took the guitar along with me and walked to the living room.

"Hey. Where were you?" Alice asked.

"I was tired," I lied. I could see Edward's lip curled to form his crooked grin.

"Where did you get that guitar from?" Rosalie asked and pointed to the guitar that I was holding.

"I found it at the corner of the room."

"You two are next. Jean is waiting for you," Jasper said.

"Wait a minute. Do I have to take pictures with Edward?"

"Yeah. You two are going to take the pictures as a couple," Jasper replied.

"Why? I'm capable of taking pictures on my own."

"Because it's for Valentine's Day. It's supposed to portray a couple, romance…those stuff," Alice said. I reluctantly walked to the photo shoot and carried the guitar along.

"Wow." I was in awe. The set-up was amazing. There was an old-fashioned swing at the tree. They placed dried leaves at the grass. My face clearly showed my astonishment as I heard Edward chuckled beside me.

"I was waiting for you, my darling," Jean said.

"Sorry. I was caught up in my little world," I joked.

"Well, you look amazing. Did I tell you that?"

"Yeah, I think. Could be the millionth time now," I teased.

"Well, you are amazing. Now give me perfect pictures, ok?" I nodded. I placed the guitar against the tree and walked to the swing. I loved to sit on a swing since I was young. I sat there and Edward stood behind me.

"Now, I know you two are just friends. But can you two please act as a couple for a few minutes?" Jean asked. I was surprised to see Edward nodded.

"Bella?" Jean was looking at me. I hate to disappoint Jean so I agreed.

"Ok. Just for you Jean. Remember that." Jean laughed and took out his camera. I posed a few positions on the swing. Then I looked up and caught Edward's eyes. We stared at each other until I heard a click sound.

"That was good, Bella," Jean commented. I looked at Edward. He was smiling. We changed our positions but we kept looking at each other. I decided to stand up against the tree. Edward followed and stood behind me again. He wrapped his arms around me. I felt an electric shock the second he placed his hands at my waist. Did he feel it too? I heard a few more clicks. Since this was what Jean liked so I played along.

"Ok. We are done. Thanks, Bella. You two look wonderful." I grabbed the guitar and sat on the grass. Edward joined and sat beside me. I placed my fingers on the strings. Then, I heard a click. I looked up and saw Jean behind his camera.

"Sorry. It was perfect. You two would make an amazing couple."

"Jean." I used my serious tone.

"I was just telling the truth. Come on, let's take a break inside the cabin." We three walked together into the cabin. Alice was practically jumping onto the couch when we entered the living room.

"Hey. You guys won't believe this. We can take back some of this clothes."

"Alice just loves their clothes," Rosalie explained.

"You love them too, Rosalie. You are just as happy as me."

"Sis, she's happy but you're ecstatic. There's a difference," Emmett said.

"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want any, Bella?" Edward asked. I nodded. I sat on the couch next to Alice.

"So how was the photo shoot?" Alice asked.

"It was great."

"No, I mean about taking pictures with Edward."

"It's…ok, normal, ordinary, typical…"

"Okay. I get it. You hate the photo shoot," Alice cut in.

"I don't hate it, Alice." Edward came into the room just in time to give me my drink.

"Edward, how was the photo shoot?" Emmett asked. I glared at him.

"It was great."

"Bella just said the exact same thing just now," Emmett said.

"Well, great minds think alike," I answered.

"I can sensed something is going on but I don't know what," Jasper said.

"I'll fill you in with details later," Alice replied.

"Hey. Now it's lunch break. There's some food in the dining room. Help yourselves. We are going to continue later," one of the assistants said. I grabbed a muffin and went to the balcony. The scenery was fantastic.

"The view is incredible, isn't it?" a velvet voice said. I nodded and closed my eyes, taking in the fresh air.

"Why aren't you singing in Alice and Rosalie's band?" I shrugged.

"You have a nice voice. Do they know about it?"

"No. Please don't tell them."

"Why?"

"I just don't want to."

"You are always full of mystery, Mischaux."

"Maybe I am."

"Hey, we have to change our clothes. The next photo shoot is starting soon," Alice said.

"I've got to go now. You better change too," I said to Edward. I walked into the tent which they set up and changed into the outfit they picked. Mine was a blue sleeveless tunic top which had a sexy open back look. The top had criss-crossing straps at the back which were adorned with colorful stones and silver rings.

Alice's top was black halter top which had faux belt at the empire waist with jewels attached by chain. The chain and jewel embellishments also adorned the neck straps.

On the other hand, Rosalie's top was red halter top which had a deep V neckline. It had Rhinestone filled circle at bust which added some bling and created a sexy keyhole opening.

We took pictures together at the fireplace. Alice and Rosalie were stunning. They posed at so many different positions. Jasper and Emmett looked perfect together with their girlfriends. We had so much fun taking pictures together. Jean took so many candid pictures of us having fun. By the end of the photo shoot, we were exhausted. Well, everyone except Alice.

"Alice, how do you have so much energy in you?" I whined.

"She's a ball of energy, Bella. She never know the meaning of exhausted," Emmett explained.

"It's not my fault. It's in my genes." We laughed so hard. Emmett was driving all of us back to school. It was at night when we reached. We grabbed some food and went back to our room to eat.

"Thank you so much, Bella. I had so much fun today," Alice said.

"You are most welcome." I smiled at her.

"I'm going to crash the bed. I'm very tired now." After I showered and changed, I fell asleep the minute my head landed on my pillow. That night was peaceful. I didn't have nightmare and it was the first time I slept soundlessly.

"Jasper, you look like a ghost. What did you do last night?" Jasper looked tired and it seemed like he didn't had any sleep last night.

"Someone here was noisy." He glared toward Emmett and Rosalie.

"What happened?" I asked them.

"You didn't hear them?" Alice asked.

"I was sleeping. Remember? I was the earliest to crash the bed."

"Yeah. But Jasper and I went to bed earlier to them. And we couldn't sleep until three in the morning."

"Wow. Seriously, what did you guys do?"

"Err…" Rosalie looked at Emmett.

"They were having sex, Bella." Jasper answered.

"What?!"

"Yeah. Surprisingly, you managed to sleep through it. They were very noisy," Alice continued.

"It was great. I'm so sorry, Alice. Jasper, you can get some sleep now if you want," Rosalie said.

"Okay. Thanks for the information but I don't want the details," I said.

"You have to get used to it, Bella. Rosalie and Emmett are always noisy," Alice chirped.

"Like I said, no details please." Alice giggled.

"Are you a prude, Bella?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, I am. So spare me the torture." I smile weakly at him. I grabbed my stuff and jogged to the park. I saw Edward sitting on the bench facing the water fountain.

"Hey. You are early today," I said. I sat beside him.

"Hey. I woke up early. And I had the whole room to myself so I had a peaceful night."

"Yeah. I can see what you mean."

"What do you mean?"

"I was actually sleeping well but Alice and Jasper didn't. I didn't know until they told me."

"They were doing it last night?" I nodded and he laughed. I looked at him.

"Sorry. Normally not everyone would be able to sleep well with them doing it. But you seem to be able to sleep through it. Congrats. You are the first one who could do so."

"Okay…" I said slowly.

"It's a compliment. Normally we would be a bit grouchy when we do not have enough sleep as they are noisy. And thankfully, Emmett decided to go to Rosalie's place last night."

"Yeah. Jasper looked like a ghost this morning." We continued talking. I found myself getting attached to him. I also became closer with the others. This was not something I would do. Maybe coming to this school helped me to become a better person. At least, I didn't shove people out of my life as bad as I used to be.

**So is it alright? And do you guys want Edward's pov? Let me know so i can write the next chapter soon(hopefully, since my teachers like giving tons of homework)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews. I'm so sorry for not updating soon. I was super busy since school started. So i would not be able to update as often as i used to. I'm so sorry!! I was rushing to finish this chapter. I hope it's ok.**

**_I do not own anything._**

After the make-up artist was done with us, we had to change our clothes. Mine was a white sleeveless dress with form-fitting bodice and flowing skirt. It buckled at empire waist and flowed until just above my knees.

"Alice, you look…" There were no words to describe how she looked like. Hers was a white and black polka dots mini dress. It had a split plunge V neckline with super romantic and classy black lace neckline trim. When Rosalie came out, Emmett was whistling.

"Wow, you look gorgeous," Emmett said. Rosalie was wearing a sexy yet stylish mini dress. It was a halter style dress with pearl and bead neck jewelry. The halter straps were adorned with pearls and beads and hooked together with a lobster clasp in the back. The dress had a sexy deep V neckline and was attached with a neck jewelry that had gold tassel which hung down at her bust. The dress hugged her body perfectly.

The guys were wearing tux with their ties hanging loosely around their necks. Jean walked towards us while whistling at us.

"Hey, gorgeous ladies. Guys, you look handsome."

"Hey, Jean," we chorused together.

"We're going to start the photo shoot outside of the cabin since we have the perfect sunlight now. Who wants to start first?" Alice raised her hand excitedly and so she started first. Alice and Jasper took photographs together as a couple and a few individually. The rest of us went inside the cabin and talked among ourselves while waiting for our turn.

"This place is so nice. It's the perfect getaway for any romantic occasion." I rolled my eyes. It was indeed a perfect place for some romance but I didn't believe in romance.

"And you don't agree?" Edward asked.

"It is a nice place for romance but…"

"But you don't believe in romance and hence the Valentine's Day," Edward cut in. I nodded. I saw Jen at the kitchen of the cabin so I walked to her.

"Hey, mom."

"Hey. Your friends are really nice. Especially Edward."

"Mom," I groaned.

"I'm just saying. Bella, there are guys interested in you but you seem to push them away."

"Because those guys are jerks."

"But Edward isn't."

"Mom, stop playing the match making game. And I'll tell dad to watch out as his wife here is drooling over a guy who is half her age," I joked. Jen joined me laughing.

"Bella, I just want you to be happy."

"I am, mom."

"Ok. I've got to go. Nicole needs me."

"Go do your super secretary work, mom," I joked. I walked back to the living room. Alice and Jasper were back while Rosalie and Emmett were outside.

"Hey, how was it?" I asked Alice.

"It was so fun. I'm so glad you bring all of us here." Alice ran and hugged me.

"Yeah. I remembered the first time I did it. Jean is the best photographer you can ever get."

"Where's your mom?" Edward asked.

"She has to do some work so she left." Soon, Alice was describing how the photo shoot was and Jasper was agreeing with her all the while. I was so glad of my decision to bring them here. I looked around the room and found a guitar at the corner of the room. I stood up and picked it up.

"Hey, whose guitar is this?" I asked one of the assistants.

"It's for the photo shoot."

"Can I use it for a while?"

"Sure. They are not using it now." I took the guitar and headed to one of the bedrooms. I closed the door behind me and sat on the bed. I tried playing a few chords. I could feel that the guitar was seldom used. After playing a few chords, I started singing.

_You only get one life to work it_

_So who cares if it's not perfect_

_I say it's close enough to perfect for me_

_Why should you hide from the thunder_

_And the lightening that your under_

_Cause there ain't nobody else you want to be_

_If how your living isn't working_

_There's one thing that will help_

_You gotta finally just stop searching_

_To find yourself_

I was pouring my heart out singing the song until I didn't hear the door had opened. I stopped abruptly when I sensed that someone was watching me. I looked up to see who was at the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"You have a great voice."

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough."

"How long is your 'long enough'?" He gave me his crooked grin.

"Fine then. But you haven't answered my first question. What are you doing here?"

"We are next. Emmett and Rosalie are done." I took the guitar along with me and walked to the living room.

"Hey. Where were you?" Alice asked.

"I was tired," I lied. I could see Edward's lip curled to form his crooked grin.

"Where did you get that guitar from?" Rosalie asked and pointed to the guitar that I was holding.

"I found it at the corner of the room."

"You two are next. Jean is waiting for you," Jasper said.

"Wait a minute. Do I have to take pictures with Edward?"

"Yeah. You two are going to take the pictures as a couple," Jasper replied.

"Why? I'm capable of taking pictures on my own."

"Because it's for Valentine's Day. It's supposed to portray a couple, romance…those stuff," Alice said. I reluctantly walked to the photo shoot and carried the guitar along.

"Wow." I was in awe. The set-up was amazing. There was an old-fashioned swing at the tree. They placed dried leaves at the grass. My face clearly showed my astonishment as I heard Edward chuckled beside me.

"I was waiting for you, my darling," Jean said.

"Sorry. I was caught up in my little world," I joked.

"Well, you look amazing. Did I tell you that?"

"Yeah, I think. Could be the millionth time now," I teased.

"Well, you are amazing. Now give me perfect pictures, ok?" I nodded. I placed the guitar against the tree and walked to the swing. I loved to sit on a swing since I was young. I sat there and Edward stood behind me.

"Now, I know you two are just friends. But can you two please act as a couple for a few minutes?" Jean asked. I was surprised to see Edward nodded.

"Bella?" Jean was looking at me. I hate to disappoint Jean so I agreed.

"Ok. Just for you Jean. Remember that." Jean laughed and took out his camera. I posed a few positions on the swing. Then I looked up and caught Edward's eyes. We stared at each other until I heard a click sound.

"That was good, Bella," Jean commented. I looked at Edward. He was smiling. We changed our positions but we kept looking at each other. I decided to stand up against the tree. Edward followed and stood behind me again. He wrapped his arms around me. I felt an electric shock the second he placed his hands at my waist. Did he feel it too? I heard a few more clicks. Since this was what Jean liked so I played along.

"Ok. We are done. Thanks, Bella. You two look wonderful." I grabbed the guitar and sat on the grass. Edward joined and sat beside me. I placed my fingers on the strings. Then, I heard a click. I looked up and saw Jean behind his camera.

"Sorry. It was perfect. You two would make an amazing couple."

"Jean." I used my serious tone.

"I was just telling the truth. Come on, let's take a break inside the cabin." We three walked together into the cabin. Alice was practically jumping onto the couch when we entered the living room.

"Hey. You guys won't believe this. We can take back some of this clothes."

"Alice just loves their clothes," Rosalie explained.

"You love them too, Rosalie. You are just as happy as me."

"Sis, she's happy but you're ecstatic. There's a difference," Emmett said.

"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want any, Bella?" Edward asked. I nodded. I sat on the couch next to Alice.

"So how was the photo shoot?" Alice asked.

"It was great."

"No, I mean about taking pictures with Edward."

"It's…ok, normal, ordinary, typical…"

"Okay. I get it. You hate the photo shoot," Alice cut in.

"I don't hate it, Alice." Edward came into the room just in time to give me my drink.

"Edward, how was the photo shoot?" Emmett asked. I glared at him.

"It was great."

"Bella just said the exact same thing just now," Emmett said.

"Well, great minds think alike," I answered.

"I can sensed something is going on but I don't know what," Jasper said.

"I'll fill you in with details later," Alice replied.

"Hey. Now it's lunch break. There's some food in the dining room. Help yourselves. We are going to continue later," one of the assistants said. I grabbed a muffin and went to the balcony. The scenery was fantastic.

"The view is incredible, isn't it?" a velvet voice said. I nodded and closed my eyes, taking in the fresh air.

"Why aren't you singing in Alice and Rosalie's band?" I shrugged.

"You have a nice voice. Do they know about it?"

"No. Please don't tell them."

"Why?"

"I just don't want to."

"You are always full of mystery, Mischaux."

"Maybe I am."

"Hey, we have to change our clothes. The next photo shoot is starting soon," Alice said.

"I've got to go now. You better change too," I said to Edward. I walked into the tent which they set up and changed into the outfit they picked. Mine was a blue sleeveless tunic top which had a sexy open back look. The top had criss-crossing straps at the back which were adorned with colorful stones and silver rings.

Alice's top was black halter top which had faux belt at the empire waist with jewels attached by chain. The chain and jewel embellishments also adorned the neck straps.

On the other hand, Rosalie's top was red halter top which had a deep V neckline. It had Rhinestone filled circle at bust which added some bling and created a sexy keyhole opening.

We took pictures together at the fireplace. Alice and Rosalie were stunning. They posed at so many different positions. Jasper and Emmett looked perfect together with their girlfriends. We had so much fun taking pictures together. Jean took so many candid pictures of us having fun. By the end of the photo shoot, we were exhausted. Well, everyone except Alice.

"Alice, how do you have so much energy in you?" I whined.

"She's a ball of energy, Bella. She never know the meaning of exhausted," Emmett explained.

"It's not my fault. It's in my genes." We laughed so hard. Emmett was driving all of us back to school. It was at night when we reached. We grabbed some food and went back to our room to eat.

"Thank you so much, Bella. I had so much fun today," Alice said.

"You are most welcome." I smiled at her.

"I'm going to crash the bed. I'm very tired now." After I showered and changed, I fell asleep the minute my head landed on my pillow. That night was peaceful. I didn't have nightmare and it was the first time I slept soundlessly.

"Jasper, you look like a ghost. What did you do last night?" Jasper looked tired and it seemed like he didn't had any sleep last night.

"Someone here was noisy." He glared toward Emmett and Rosalie.

"What happened?" I asked them.

"You didn't hear them?" Alice asked.

"I was sleeping. Remember? I was the earliest to crash the bed."

"Yeah. But Jasper and I went to bed earlier to them. And we couldn't sleep until three in the morning."

"Wow. Seriously, what did you guys do?"

"Err…" Rosalie looked at Emmett.

"They were having sex, Bella." Jasper answered.

"What?!"

"Yeah. Surprisingly, you managed to sleep through it. They were very noisy," Alice continued.

"It was great. I'm so sorry, Alice. Jasper, you can get some sleep now if you want," Rosalie said.

"Okay. Thanks for the information but I don't want the details," I said.

"You have to get used to it, Bella. Rosalie and Emmett are always noisy," Alice chirped.

"Like I said, no details please." Alice giggled.

"Are you a prude, Bella?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, I am. So spare me the torture." I smile weakly at him. I grabbed my stuff and jogged to the park. I saw Edward sitting on the bench facing the water fountain.

"Hey. You are early today," I said. I sat beside him.

"Hey. I woke up early. And I had the whole room to myself so I had a peaceful night."

"Yeah. I can see what you mean."

"What do you mean?"

"I was actually sleeping well but Alice and Jasper didn't. I didn't know until they told me."

"They were doing it last night?" I nodded and he laughed. I looked at him.

"Sorry. Normally not everyone would be able to sleep well with them doing it. But you seem to be able to sleep through it. Congrats. You are the first one who could do so."

"Okay…" I said slowly.

"It's a compliment. Normally we would be a bit grouchy when we do not have enough sleep as they are noisy. And thankfully, Emmett decided to go to Rosalie's place last night."

"Yeah. Jasper looked like a ghost this morning." We continued talking. I found myself getting attached to him. I also became closer with the others. This was not something I would do. Maybe coming to this school helped me to become a better person. At least, I didn't shove people out of my life as bad as I used to be.

**So is it alright? And do you guys want Edward's pov? Let me know so i can write the next chapter soon(hopefully, since my teachers like giving tons of homework)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey...I just realized my story is very very slow. So some of you may think i'm out of my storyline. But don't worry. I'm not. I didn't know my story is moving slow. So i'm trying to make it fast. I hope it's ok. **

**And i didn't realized my chapters 8 and 9 are the same until my friend told me bout it. Thank you (-xAxsxHxlxExyx- and i****luvfindingmyself(I know it's not your author name but decide to put it to let you know i realized it)) for telling me. ****I'm so sorry!! The story which i put under chapter 9 wasn't suppose to be chapter 9. There's some mix up in my chapters. And i don't know how to edit the damage i've done. So can you guys take the chapter 8 as part 1 of the photoshoot while chapter 9 as the part 2? I'm so very sorry. **

**And thanks to you all (TwilightFanGirlForever96, ifurcutesitbyme, LCHSchick, crimson-goth-girl, '.Lamb)** **who pointed out my mistake. I kept forgeting to change Swan to Mischaux(Bella's known name)**

**Thanks to all who reviewed. It has been a busy week for me so i can't reply all of your reviews. But i'll reply them asap. I'm so sorry for the long note. I hope you like this chapter.**

**I do not own anything**

Edward's POV

I had to go for a jog to clear my mind. Yesterday, Bella was beautiful, gorgeous, magnificent…Wow, I managed to come up with three words which had the same meaning. Emmett and Jasper decided to spend the night at the girls' room. So I had the whole room to myself. I was sitting on the bench, looking at the water fountain when I saw someone was sitting beside me. It was my muse.

"Hey. You are early today," she said.

"Hey. I woke up early. And I had the whole room to myself so I had a peaceful night," she was wearing a blue shirt with matching sweatpants.

"Yeah. I can see what you mean," she sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"I was actually sleeping well but Alice and Jasper didn't. I didn't know until they told me." Did Emmett and Rosalie do it again?

"They were doing it last night?" She nodded. I didn't realized that I was laughing until I caught her looking at me. We stared at each other for a while.

"Sorry. Normally not everyone would be able to sleep well with them doing it. But you seem to be able to sleep through it. Congrats. You are the first one who could do so," I said.

"Okay…" she said slowly and I chuckled.

"It's a compliment. Normally we would be a bit grouchy when we do not have enough sleep as they are noisy. And thankfully, Emmett decided to go to Rosalie's place last night."

"Yeah. Jasper looked like a ghost this morning." We continued talking. I realized that Bella had gotten better this time. I still remembered the first time we met. I was curious why such a stunning girl would have so much anger in her. But I was going to find out.

**********

Bella's POV

_1 month later_

"Bella, hurry up. The guys are gonna be here any minute now." Alice pushed me into the bathroom. I was planning to take a long shower, delaying the time to confront Alice's torture.

"Bella! If you are thinking about taking a long shower, I'm going to do worse later." _Crap. How could she read my mind?_ I got into the shower and used my strawberry scented shampoo. I wrapped myself in my towel and walked out to the room. Alice gestured her hand to the chair for me to sit. Soon, Alice attacked my face with make-up while Rosalie with my hair.

"Girls, don't do anything bizarre. Ok?" They giggled and I groaned. They had been doing my make-up and hair since the photo shoot. They said I looked better. But in my heart, I think they just wanted to torture me. After it seemed like ages, they were done.

"Now, go and change into this dress," Rosalie ordered and handed me my dress. They pushed me to the full-length mirror. I was in awe. I didn't look myself. The girl standing in front of me was gorgeous.

"See? You are so much better with our skills," Alice said with I-told-you-so tone.

"Wow. I can't believe this. Thank you so much," I squealed. We took a few pictures together with my camera. Then, someone knocked at our door. Alice opened the door and there it stood was a god-like creature. _Crap. Did I just say god-like creature?_ Jasper picked Alice up while Emmett walked in, looking for Rosalie.

"Hey. You look exquisite," a velvet voice said. He gave me a fully bloomed red rose. I smelled the rose and put it into a vase on my table.

"Thanks. You don't look to bad yourself too."

"We have to go now. The ball is going to start soon," Alice said.

"Shall we?" He took out his arm and I happily took it with my own.

Edward's POV

"Hurry up, Emmett. We are going to be late." Emmett was being Emmett. He was the slowest among us all. Jasper and I were waiting impatiently for him. The girls would be furious if we were going to be late.

"Ok. I'm done." Emmett finally came out from his room.

"Finally," Jasper said while rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I have to look my best tonight." Emmett adjusted his collar. Jasper and I shook our heads. We managed to reach at their door just in time. Jasper knocked the door and Alice appeared. Jasper picked her up while Emmett walked in. I stood at the door, mesmerizing my muse's beauty. She was wearing a turquoise halter dress. It had a rhinestone brooch at the bust and she was beyond gorgeous with that dress.

"Hey. You look exquisite." I gave her a red rose which I picked from the florist. She put it into a vase on the table.

"Thanks. You don't look to bad yourself too."

"We have to go now. The ball is going to start soon," Alice said.

"Shall we?" I took out my arm and she placed her hand onto it. We walked together to the ballroom downstairs. The ballroom was seldom used. I opened the door for her and we walked in together. Once she was inside, she looked everywhere. She was amazed with the decorations. There was a huge elegant chandelier in the middle of the room. There were white roses everywhere. I could hear her gasped. I chuckled.

"We are at table 37," Alice said. We found the table which was near the dancing floor and settled. Soon, the food arrived. We ate while talked among ourselves. Bella agreed to come to the Valentine's Ball with me. Mike cornered her every single time he had the chance and the same went for me with Tanya. Alice, too kept insisting for us to go together. So, I asked her to go with me two weeks ago. I was ecstatic when she agreed to.

"The food is delicious," Emmett said.

"Every food to you is delicious, baby," Rosalie said. All of us laughed except for Emmett who was pouting.

"Emmett, did I ever told you that you and your pout don't go well together?" Bella said between her laughs.

"Bella…" Emmett whined. This made Bella laughed harder. Her laughter was the most beautiful sound I ever heard. Suddenly I felt a kicked from under the table. I looked up and saw Alice. _Shit. She caught me staring at Bella._

"What's wrong with you? You have that pain look on your face," Bella said.

"Nothing's wrong. I accidentally stepped on my toe," I lied. However, this earned another laughter from her.

"How could you actually step on your toe?"

"Accidentally. Like I said." After the every food was served, the dancing floor started to be occupied. Jasper and Emmett were with their girlfriends on the dancing floor too. I saw Bella watching them dancing.

"Would you like to dance, my lady?" I stood up and held out my hand.

"I can't really dance, Edward. I have two left feet."

"It's all about the leading, Bella."

"Ok. But you will regret it later." She placed her right hand onto mine. I suddenly felt an electric shock from her hand to my whole body. It made me felt so alive. I lead her to the dancing floor. I placed one hand onto her waist while the other holding her hand. She rested her head onto my shoulders. She smelled like strawberry. We danced and said no words. It was unnecessary to speak.

"Gentlemen, this is the last dance of the day. Get your ladies for one last dance," the dj announced. I looked at Bella and sighed. After the ball we went to the girls' room.

"Good night, Bella. Sweet dreams."

"Good night." I planted a kiss onto her right cheek. She blushed. Bella was worn-out and went into her bedroom.

"Care to explain, my brother?" Alice demanded.

"Explain what?" I asked innocently. However, I knew perfectly what she meant.

"Just now at the ball. And the kiss on her cheek."

"I…" I was digging for an excuse in my head.

"You really do like her, don't you?"

"Edward, just admit it. We could see," Rosalie said. _Was I being obvious?_

"Yea, Eddie. The four of us knew about it," Emmett teased.

"And you, Jasper?" I asked for confirmation. He nodded.

"So, do you honestly like her?" Alice asked again.

"Yes." I sighed. Alice squealed.

"Shh… Bella's sleeping," I said.

"It's ok, Edward. She's a nice girl. We like her."

"But don't you dare break her heart, Edward," Rosalie warned.

"She's delicate and vulnerable," Alice continued. _Delicate and vulnerable?_

"She has been having nightmares on and off. But she would scream at most nights. She must have been going through something hard before she came here," Alice explained.

"Can you feel the difference in her? The first day she came here…she was different from now," Rosalie added. I nodded. _So, they realized the change in her attitude. But what could possibly give nightmares to my Bella?_

"Edward, please make her happy," Alice said.

"I would do anything to make that happen."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"So, all of us are with you. Just as long as you don't break her heart," Rosalie said.

"Or your beautiful face will meet my macho fists," Emmett said, causing us to laugh. I went back to my room. Jasper and Emmett decided to stay over with their girlfriends. So I had the whole room to myself again. That night, I stared up at the ceiling, figuring what could have happened to her. But I couldn't come up with anything so I drifted off to sleep.

The next day, I woke earlier than any other day. After I showered and changed, I tried to comb my messy hair. It wouldn't stay so I gave up. I walked to the girls' dorm and headed to Bella's room. I knocked on the door and a highly energetic pixie opened the door.

"Good morning."

"Morning, Alice. Is Bella in?"

"Yea. But she's still asleep. Want to come in?" She opened the door slightly bigger. I walked in and sat onto the couch.

"I'm going to wake her up now," Alice said and went to Bella's room. From the living room, I could hear Bella woke up groggily. I chuckled. After I had waited for almost half an hour, she walked out.

"Hey. Morning."

"Morning," she said and yawned.

"Had a nice sleep?"

"Yup. Until Alice had to wake me up."

"It's not my fault, Bella. And you went to bed the earliest last night," Alice said.

"I'm still sleep deprived." Bella yawned again. I chuckled.

"I'm glad we keep you entertained, Cullen."

"You are so absurd, Bella."

"Why are you here so early?"

"I woke up early so I decided to hang around here for a moment before going to school." _Actually, I purposely woke up early to see your beautiful face before entering class._

I walked with her to English. We had most of our classes together. But this time, I had basketball practice. There would be a match with the Columbus High School this weekend. The coach doubled our practices so we wouldn't lose on our first match.

"I'll see you later, Bella." We arrived at Mrs. Donningham's door.

"Aren't you coming in?"

"I've basketball practice. I better go now. I'm going to be late." I walked to the gym room reluctantly. I wanted to stay beside Bella. When I opened the door, Emmett was playing basketball with Jasper.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Edward," Jasper said.

"You finally came. What took you so long?" Emmett teased.

"I walked Bella to English just now." I managed to block Bella out of my mind. Time passed quickly and it was Gym time for her. I saw her entering the room with Alice and Rosalie. Angela was behind them with Ben. She was stunning and her laughter was the only sound I heard.

"Edward," Emmett said, bringing me back to reality.

"How did you guys do it? I can't help staying away from her. It's only two hours but I missed her."

"You will find out yourself. But don't stare at her like she's a food to eat," Emmett teased. I threw the ball hard to him and he caught it.

"Gosh. I'm just joking, Edward. No need to throw so hard to me," Emmett said.

"Everyone, let's take a break," I said. Emmett and Jasper rushed to Rosalie and Alice. I found Bella reading Wuthering Heights on the bench. The book was old and torn. She must had been reading the book for a thousand times.

"Hey. How were the classes?" She looked up from her book.

"Hey. English was dull. Mrs. Donningham kept explaining Shakespeare's works. Oh, and we have to do some research on him. It's our homework." I groaned.

"What about Math?" I asked.

"We did calculus today. It was ok."

"Ok as in you submitted some wrong answers again on purpose." She smiled sheepishly.

"You still haven't tell me why you did that," I pointed out.

"I…"

"You don't have to tell me now. But do tell me soon. I'm very curious."

"No, it's ok. I just don't want to stand out in class. I don't want to be stamped as a nerd or a smartass or geek…any of that."

"You are anything but that, Bella."

"That's because only you managed to found out my little secret. It's childish to think that way but I want a normal life in school." I chuckled. She playfully slapped my arm.

"Promise you won't tell anyone."

"I promise."

"Thank you," she whispered. _Anything for you, Bella_. A whistle was blown and Coach Luthor was gathering all of us.

"You will have the afternoon off if you play well. Now hurry. Form two teams." Jasper and Emmett were in the other team. My team was leading with three points when Coach Luthor whistled for a break. I saw Emmett running to get his water. But he ran to Bella with the bottle in his hand. They whispered to each other. He listened carefully while taking huge gulps of water.

Then, Coach Luthor whistled again. We continued playing. I threw the ball to Mike as he was in the open. But I saw Jasper intercepted it. He ran quickly, looking for Emmett. I hurriedly went to Emmett to intercept if he threw the ball. But he did not do it. He threw the ball to Tyler. I saw Emmett smirked at me. I ran to the other side. Just as I left Emmett, he ran and Tyler threw the ball to him. _Damn. What manipulative game are they playing?_

The whole game lasted like that. I couldn't read their minds. They would do something unexpected and managed to score a lot of points too. Soon, the game was over with my team losing. Emmett did his little chicken dance. I groaned.

"Don't worry, my little brother. You always win. Let us win this time." Jasper walked toward us.

"Yeah. Let us win this time. You have your moments, Edward." I groaned. Jasper and Emmett laughed. The girls walked toward us. Alice and Rosalie gave Jasper and Emmett a kiss. _How I wish that Bella could kiss me too_.

"Hey. Great game," Bella said.

"Thanks to you," Emmett said. _Wait. What?_

"Bella was helping them just now," Alice explained.

"Help how?" Then I remembered that they were whispering during the half game. Before that, they were losing. After Emmett went to Bella, they started winning. And last time too. Bella told him about one of my guys' disadvantage. It all clicked together.

"Bella pointed some mistakes again," I said in as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Yup. Bella is talented here," Emmett said.

"Are you girls going to the game this week?" I asked. Rosalie and Alice nodded their heads. I looked at Bella.

"Bella, what about you?" _Please say yes. Please come to the first match of the year. It will mean a lot to me._

**Is it alright? i was helping my friend to write a chapter of her story. so when i wrote mine, i was having an author's block. So i kinda simply write this chapter (I'm so sorry). I hope u guys like it. Pls review!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey!!Sorry for not updating for 2 weeks. I have reasons. 1st, i was having author's block when i wrote this chapter. 2nd, i can't find the time to write anymore. and 3rd, i feel like dropping this story. I don't have much enthusiasm to continue writing this story. So, the time setting in this story will move very fast. I hope you guys can catch it. Anyway after writing and uploading 10 chapters, i realized that i need to send some appreciation to some of the readers. So this chapter is dedicated to readers as follow:**

**June-Avatar11**

**FRK921 (u inspired this chapter)**

**CullenGrl255**

**ifurcutesitbyme**

**cornilia243**

**You guys made me look forward in reading what you wrote everytime i upload new chapters. To the others, thank you so much for reviewing. I just thought they should be appreciated for reviewing most of my chapters. Anyway, lets get back to the story...**

**I do not own anything**

Back to Bella's POV

"Bella, what about you?"

A lot of thoughts came swirling in my head. _Should I go to the game?_ The last time I went to a game was when Aaron and Drew were still alive. I didn't miss any of their games. But this time, Edward asked me to go. And Emmett would be there too. He constantly kept reminding me of Aaron. _Would I be able to control myself? Would the memories come back? I tried so hard to push away the memories. They will only haunt me in my dreams._

"Bella?" Emmett said, waving his hand in front of me.

"Huh?"

"We called you so many times. What were you thinking about just now? You are pale white like a piece of paper."

"Oh, nothing."

"Bella?" Edward said with a worried tone.

"I'm fine. Really. Why were you calling me just now?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"We were just wondering whether you are going to the game. Are you?"

"Err…"

"Come on, Bella. Let's go. It will be fun," Alice said, trying to convince me.

"I'll see first ok?"

"Just don't think bout it. Go and have fun," Alice said.

"Alice, let her think about it ok? She will let us know whether she will be coming, right?" Edward said, looking at me.

"Yeah, sure." Then, Coach Luthor whistled.

"Enough with the chit chat. Come back here."

"Oops. We better get back. See you later," Emmett said. Coach Luthor was yelling at them. He wasn't satisfied as Edward's team lost. The rest of the day passed by. I wasn't concentrating in my classes. I was lost in my thoughts. _Should I go to the game? It's been a long time. Maybe going will be a good idea. Or maybe it's a bad idea. Gosh. What should I do?_ That night I went to sleep early. I was still thinking and weighing my options on whether I should go.

_Everything around me was on fire. But this time, it was different. He was still there, looking for me. He found me hiding and dragged me out of my hiding spot. He forced me looked at my family perished in the fire. Their eyes were still open. They showed fear, sadness, terror… everything. I closed my eyes but he forced them open._

_"Look at them. Look at the way they were begging for mercy. But I take none of that."_

_"No!!!"_

I woke up screaming. Alice and Rosalie crashed through the door. I was sweating and my heartbeat was very fast. It was like breathing wasn't enough. I tried to calm myself but I couldn't. Soon, I started to cry.

"Bella. What's wrong?" Alice asked. I looked at her worried face. _I can't tell her now. Not yet. I'm not ready._

"Shh…Everything is going to be ok," Rosalie reassured me. They hugged me and the three of us fell asleep on my bed. The next morning, the banging on the door woke us up. I glanced at the clock. It was 8.57 am. _Crap. We are going to be late for school._ Alice who was energetic as soon as she woke up, ran to the door and opened for the three guys to come in.

"Hey. Did you just wake up?" I heard Jasper asked from my room.

"Yeah. The three of us slept very late last night," Alice lied.

"Well, you are going to need some time to get ready. We will get breakfast to you then." The three of us had quick showers. But, Alice and Rosalie still had the time to put a little make-up on them. I was gathering my books when I smelled strawberry pancakes. I looked at my door and saw Edward leaning against the door, carrying a plate of pancakes.

"We still have time. I ate mine just now. Let me help you while you go and eat this pancakes."

"Thanks." I set the plate on my table and ate quickly. I saw Edward putting my books into my bag. We hurriedly walked to our class. We were five minutes late as we entered English.

"You're late."

"We're sorry."

"It's ok. Take your seat and copy these questions." Mrs. Donningham continued to write on the whiteboard. I took out my book and started copying them. But my head wasn't concentrating again. I was thinking about my dream. _Why did my dream suddenly change? It wasn't like this all the while. It has gotten worse._ The rest of the day passed by. I could see from the corner of my eyes that Edward kept looking at me. When I caught him looking at me, I would smile at him. _Am I ready to tell them? Should I tell them? Alice and Rosalie have been good friends to me. They had to endure me screaming after my nightmares. But Edward was the closest to me. I open up to him more than them._

Before I knew it, it was dinner time. I went out with them but I was quiet the whole time we were walking together. Alice and Rosalie knew to leave me alone to my thoughts. I sat on the table with them. Edward volunteered to buy my food and I let him. I was too tired to argue with him. I ate my dinner in silence while the rest of them talked among themselves.

The next few days were the same. They left me alone. But I still had nightmares. This time, it was every night. It was getting worse. Alice and Rosalie would normally crash through my door and soon I gave up on locking my door. I was grateful that they would barge into the room even though they knew how much I hate it. They would hug me and calmed me. And they didn't bother to ask me what the dream was about.

Soon, Friday came. The basketball match with Columbus High School was going to be on tomorrow. They had not asked whether I would be going. That night, I was sitting on my bed, relaxing. I turned on my laptop and played the songs on my playlist. I had to clear my head. Then, the five of them came in.

"Bella, we've been avoiding this conversation for almost the whole week. We need to talk," Alice said. She was concerned. I patted the side of my bed, inviting them to sit. I sighed.

"Bella, you can tell us anything. You know that right?" Rosalie said this time.

"Yeah."

"Then, can you tell us about the nightmares you've been having?" Alice asked.

"You are scaring us, Bella," Emmett said.

"You guys know too?" I asked. The three of them nodded their heads.

"Don't blame them. We are the one who told them," Alice quickly said.

"It's ok."

"So, are you going to tell us?" Edward asked. I looked into his eyes. They were filled with worry.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Bella," Alice whined.

"Alice. Don't push her anymore. She has been having nightmares since you pushed her to go to the game," Edward said. I looked at Alice. Her face suddenly fell.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't know it'll give you nightmares."

"It's ok. Seriously. I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine," Jasper said.

"I am. And I'm going tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Jasper asked. I nodded and Alice smiled.

"Please don't change the topic. Are you going to tell us what happened to you? Why are you having nightmares?" Emmett asked. He was worried. For that minute, I thought Emmett as Aaron. Tears started forming. Edward's hand wiped away my tears.

"Bella, I'm so sorry," Emmett apologized. He hugged me. It was like hugging Aaron. I hugged him back.

"I'm fine."

"Can you please tell us? We are worried about you," Alice said.

"Not now, Alice. Next time. When I'm ready." I dropped my head and stared at my hands.

"It's alright. But please tell us soon. We would like to help you," Alice said.

"Yeah. And Rosalie told me that I am like a brother that you never had. So now, I'm going to step in that role. Right from this instance, I'm going to be your brother." I looked at Emmett. _Did he mean every single word he said just now? He looks just like Aaron and I don't think I can help myself anymore.I'm in a losing battle to fight my emotions._ A tear escaped from my right eye and Emmett wiped it away.

"Thanks, Emmett."

"What? For being your brother or wiping away your tear?" Emmett joked. I laughed.

"Both. I love you guys very much. But I can't tell you what's going on in my life. Not now."

"It's ok. But promise us that you will tell us soon. We hate it when we can't help you whenever you have those nightmares," Alice said.

"Thanks. I promise I'll tell you guys." Soon, everyone hugged me. I was feeling grateful to have them in my life. In my fifteen years of living, I had not made any friends like them. And I was thinking about telling them my story. _Whoa. That thought scared me. I didn't even tell Nick and Jen. Plus, I trust both of them more than the five of them. Would I tell them?_ I started to panic.

"Breathe, Bella," Edward said. I realized I held my breath while I was thinking. I took a deep breath.

"That's it. Are you alright?" Edward asked. I simply nodded. A yawn escaped from my mouth.

"We better let Bella sleep now. She's tired." The guys left while Alice and Rosalie decided to sleep over in my room. That night I had the same nightmare. Alice and Rosalie woke up and comforted me until we fell asleep again. Luckily the guys weren't here or they would not be able to play the game very well without their full rest. The next morning, the guys were busy preparing themselves. We, the girls, took our time and relaxed the whole morning.

"Bella, you've got to shower now," Alice said, pushing me into the bathroom. I sighed and took a long hot shower. I let the running water massaged my back. And the scented candles helped me too. Freesia. _So relaxing_. Alice didn't rush me to shower as she asked me to shower early. So there was plenty of time to spend before going to the game.

"Feeling better?" Rosalie asked. I nodded. I sat on my chair, preparing for Alice and Rosalie. They had insisted on doing a light make-up so I agreed to do so. I closed my eyes, thinking whether going to the game was a wise idea.

"Ok. We're done. You can open your eyes now." I opened my eyes and I saw myself in the mirror. They put a slight light blue eye shadow and applied lip-gloss. It was neutral and I liked it.

"Judging from your smile, we're glad that you like it." Alice handed me a shirt and I went into the bathroom to put it on. I walked out and they looked at me wide eyed.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't know Alice was right," Rosalie answered.

"Right about what?"

"I altered Edward's jersey to suit your body." I looked at myself and I realized it was indeed his shirt. _But why are they asking me to wear his shirt?_

"Alice and I are wearing Jasper's and Emmett's. So we figured that it'll be better to not leave you aside and therefore the shirt," Rosalie answered my thoughts. Alice quickly put a thick silver belt at my waist. They pushed me to my full-length mirror. Alice was wonderful. She managed to make the humongous jersey to fit me perfectly. And she made it looked fashionable.

"Thanks. I love you guys so much." I hugged both of them and we went to the gym. Our school had one of the largest gym rooms. So the game would be held in the school. As we entered the school, there were many cars parked outside and the atmosphere was wild. Many supporters from both schools came, dressed in respective school's spirit shirts. I looked around and saw many people, especially the girls wearing shirts with Edward's name. Unlucky for me, most of Edward's fans were shooting death glares at me. We walked in and got ourselves some food and drinks. We sat in the front row, waiting anxiously for the game to start.

"And here comes the players from Colorado High School!" the guy shouted. The girls were screaming frantically. I saw Edward and he smiled at me. I smiled back and mouthed "All the best". Rosalie and Alice blew kisses to their boyfriends. As the game started, they played with their full concentration. The game was intense. The opponent was great too. They kept blocking Edward and Emmett. Thus, the both of them weren't always in open. This made them more frustrated. By the end of the half game, the school was losing by five points.

"Bella!" Emmett screamed while running to me. Luckily we were sitting in the front row or he would be having a hard time to find us.

"We need your help. What shall we do?"

"Are you sure? I mean, won't your coach be upset if I help you guys?"

"Just tell me what we should do. You have helped for a million times in winning the match against Edward. Please?" Emmett begged.

"Bella, why don't you help them? I've never seen Coach Luthor to be so hopeless," Alice said. _Hopeless?_ I looked at the bench and saw Coach Luthor. He was very frustrated and it seemed like he had no idea to make his star players to shoot some hoops. I sighed.

"Jasper is fast. Tyler is great. They don't really pay attention to those two…" Just then, Jasper and Edward came running to me.

"So Bella, what's the plan?" Edward asked.

"We don't have any time. Why don't you come down with us to the bench? By that way, everyone gets to listen to your plan," Jasper suggested. Emmett suddenly pulled me.

"Go ahead. We'll be here watching," Rosalie said. I nodded. I ran there with Edward, Emmett and Jasper.

"Everyone, listen to what Bella has to say. She's great in planning to make us win," Emmett said, getting everyone's attention. Not surprisingly, doubt was written in most of their faces.

"Yeah. Remember that time when my team won against Edward's team? She was the one who helped us," Tyler continued. Many of them nodded and soon turned their heads to me, listening to what I was going to say next.

"I don't know whether this would work but it's worth the try. I was telling Emmett that Jasper is fast and Tyler is great. You have to combine those two as the other team doesn't really pay attention to them. So Jasper, can you grab the ball quick? Dribble the ball across the court? Pass to Tyler. If that surprises them, Edward should be in open. Then you can pass the ball to him, and you can make a three-pointer throw right?" I asked Edward. He nodded with a smile.

"Emmett on the other hand, should defend their star player. Number 16? Anyway, you defending them might get them irritated. And Mike, don't be selfish and grab the ball by yourself. Pass to Tyler. Or anyone else. And the guy number eleven who always defend Edward? He is a bit slow. As in when you throw the ball, he can't see it. He registers the game very slow. So the faster you move, the more he can't anticipate your moves."

"That's great, Mischaux. How could I not realize it?" Coach Luthor suddenly said.

"Like I said, she's great," Emmett said.

"You're just stressed, coach. That's why you can't realize it," I said. Then, the whistle was blown. They went back to the court and I was about to walk off to Alice and Rosalie when Coach Luthor stopped me.

"Stay. We might need your help again." I nodded. I sat on the bench with him. I watched them play. Edward got the ball and he passed to Jasper. I could see shock across the other players' faces. They had expected him to throw to Emmett. They started to leave Emmett and blocked Edward. But, Jasper ran across the court and Tyler was in open. Tyler caught the ball. The number 16 guy was pissed and started screaming everyone to block Jasper. They left Edward and Tyler threw the ball to him. Edward smiled, threw the ball into the net, scoring three points in less than five minutes.

"Impressive. That was fast," Coach Luthor said with a huge smile. The game continued. They were confused and surprised with our school's team players. They had no idea what was going on and soon we were leading by three points. They played fast and Columbus High School players were astounded with our sudden unpredictable moves. This time, they were frustrated. Soon, the whistle was blown, indicating the game was over, with us winning by eight points. The guys screamed and Emmett danced his victory dance again. Alice and Rosalie ran towards me and we hugged each other. We were glad that our school had won in the match. Emmett and Jasper came running to their girlfriends while I slowly take in the atmosphere around me. _It is exactly how it was when Aaron and Drew won the game._ The thought surprised me as that moment, I saw someone familiar across the court. The both of them may have grown but I could still recognize their faces. Suddenly, I was sweating cold sweats and my heart was beating fast. _Shit. I'm having a panic attack. Chill, Bella._ I tried to calm myself. But I couldn't. Then, everything was pitch black.

**I know it's predictable. So can you pls suggest some ideas to me so that the story would be unpredictable? **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey!! i was so happy that many reviews came in. i was screaming out of joy until my mum came into the room to ask me what happened. so thank you to all who reviewed. u guys made me write this chapter a little longer than i used to. its more than 3000 words!! and my friend helped to check a little. So thank you so much!! and i won't be able to update very often now. im having my exam soon:( i just got the schedule and my school cramp lots of subjects in one day:( so now i'll update every fortnight... hope u guys are ok with it**

**_I do not anything._**

Edward's POV

I saw Bella hugging Alice and Rosalie after we won the game. Jasper and Emmett ran to them to greet their girlfriends. But I kept looking at Bella. Suddenly, her face changed. She was as pale as paper out of sudden. Inside me, I was already panicking. While I was walking towards her, she fainted and I quickly sprinted across the gym. Fortunately, I managed to catch her before she fell. Her body felt cold, which was odd.

"Bella?" I called, suddenly realizing my throat was dry. The others quickly turned their attention to us. Alice and Rosalie gasped. Emmett, turned into the 'big brother' mode and urged me to carry her to the locker room. Coach Luthor only allowed a few of us to enter as a crowd would only make the things worse. Jasper went to get some ice while Rosalie was using a piece of cardboard to fan Bella.

"How is she?" Coach Luthor asked.

"We don't know what happened. One minute she was fine and the next she was…" We knew what happened next. I was the only one who saw her fainted. Alice buried her face in Jasper's chest. _Bella, please wake up..._ In the room, I could see everyone was worried too. Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, Tyler, Coach Luthor…and of course there was me who already dying inside. After what seemed like forever, but in reality, it was merely fifteen minutes, she finally regained consciousness. She looked very weak, unlike her usual tough self.

"Bella, are you alright?" I asked. She nodded weakly and looked around her.

"We're in the locker room. You passed out just now," I explained.

"Yeah. And scared the hell out of us too," Emmett continued. She smiled.

She said softly, "Sorry, I think I'm okay right now. But I guess I just some rest."

"Edward, can you carry her back to her room?" Alice asked. I carried Bella without any hesitation. Jasper and Emmett grabbed my bag and trailed behind. She was too weak to object to the idea of me carrying her back to her dorm. As we walked, I could see some of the girls glaring at us, but I didn't give a damn care about that. I continued walking, determined to get Bella back to her room as fast as possible. My heart sank deep seeing her being sick. I placed her on her bed and took out her shoes. I closed the door quietly behind me and went to the living room.

"Hey, how's she?" Emmett asked anxiously. He and Jasper were both worried too.

"I don't know. She looks so weak. I wish I can help her," I answered.

"Edward, it's ok. All of us don't know what happened to her. And you did help her. If it weren't for you, she would have fall and crashed her head to the floor. By that time, she would have brain damage," Alice said, trying lighten to the mood in the room. I smiled at her.

"Edward, go back. You're tired. We'll call you as soon as she wakes up," Rosalie said. I reluctantly went back to my room. Jasper and Emmett decided to stay there. _Why does everyone get to stay there while I can't?_ That night, I couldn't sleep well. I kept thinking about her. _She was happy that the team had won. But her face suddenly changed. And that's when she fainted. What happened?_ I was figuring what could possibly trigger her to faint. I didn't believe in sudden faints. You may faint because of low in sugar and stuff like that. But I recalled seeing her getting food and drinks while watching the game. _So what was the trigger?_

_Should I ask her about it when she's feeling better tomorrow? Maybe not. Now that she's finally slowly opening up to us, I shouldn't take the risk. What if by asking her what actually happened, she would shut us out from her life again? None of us could bear that happening now that we're like one big family, especially me, I can't think of a day without Bella being around. It would be like back to square one._

_Ever since I met her, she's like a constant drug, and well, obviously, I'm the drug addict. _

_I wish she could trust me fully, then maybe our relationship can go to another level? If that can't happen, I'm contented with what I have at the moment, that is, having her as, just a friend, or are we best friends yet? _

Bella's POV

I woke up, looking around me. I was back in my room. I looked at the clock at the nightstand. 3.45 am. . Feeling thirsty, I went to the living room to get a glass of water. I sat in the couch, thinking back of what happened just now. It was them. I was so sure of it. They had grown to be better looking guys._ Did they see me? But if they do, they wouldn't be able to recognize me anyway. It's almost thirteen years._

Those two were Aaron and Drew's best friends. Brett and Chad. The four of them were always called the ABCD. I had always hung out with them since I was a toddler as Aaron and Drew were my only brothers. _Maybe I'm just imagining things. It can't be them. What brings them here? Especially it's just a high school basketball match, not NBA._ I didn't know how long I stayed at the couch. Then, Alice walked out from her room.

"Bella?" She called out groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Oh my god. You are alright." She ran and hugged me. _Wow, this pixie sure could gather her energy less than a second._

"How long have you been awake?"

"A while," I answered. Jasper walked to the living room and grabbed a glass of water.

"Hey, Bella. How are you feeling?"

"Hey. I'm good, I guess."

"You scared us last night, you know. We were terrified. We didn't know what happened to you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what happened to me too. Perhaps I didn't get enough sleep," I lied. Alice took out her cell and started talking to the other line. I went back to my room and lied on my bed. About ten minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"How are you?" he said, with his crooked grin.

"You know, everyone's been asking how I am. I think I should record saying that I'm fine. Save lots of energy," I joked. He chuckled.

"You really did scare us."

"That's what everyone has been telling me too. Was I that bad?" He nodded and smiled. I groaned. I didn't like to be in the centre of attention. I looked at him and noticed the bags under his eyes.

"Didn't sleep well last night, panda?" I teased. He chuckled and nodded.

"It's practically your fault, Mischaux."

"Really? How so?"

"You fainted. Remember? I was so terrified."

"Sorry. Didn't know it will make all of you scared. But I do remember telling you guys I'm alright."

"Of course we will be scared even though you ensured us that you were okay. You are part of us now." _Wait a minute. Did he just say that I am a part of them? How so? They are a family. I'm not their family._

"Bella. You've been hanging out with us. So practically you are like our family. We love each other. We care for each other," he explained after seeing the confusion on my face. The others came into my room and gave me a group hug.

"Emmett, I can't breathe," I screamed. He quickly released me. Everyone in the room laughed.

"Sorry. Can't control my strength," he joked. I playfully slapped his arm. He pretended that he was hurt. I laughed. Right on cue, my cell rang. Edward and the others wanted to leave to give me some privacy but I stopped them.

"Wait. It's just my father," I explained. I put the call on speaker and motioned them to join along.

"Hey, dad. It's on speaker."

"Hi sweetie. How's school?"

"Ok, dad. I don't believe that you call me on Sunday just to ask me bout school," I joked. Alice and Edward started laughing.

"Oh, and my friends are here. Meet Edward, Alice, Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett."

"Hi Bella's friends. And you caught me. Your mother is out and I need your help."

"Hi Mr. Mischaux," they chorused together.

"Remember what day is next Saturday?" he asked, sounding hopeful. I thought, counting the days. Suddenly, I realized that Saturday was. It was the fourth of March. I gasped. The others looked at me, waiting for an answer.

"Well, it's our 18 year anniversary. And I don't know what to do…"

"Dad, let me handle it," I blurted it out.

"I want it to be perfect. But…what did you say just now?" I took a deep breath.

"I'll plan your perfect day. Leave everything to me. But on one condition."

"Name it," he said eagerly.

"Don't tell mom. I want it to be a surprise."

"No prob. Anything else, kiddo?"

"And pretend that you forgot what day it is next week. Pretend it's just an ordinary day."

"What?" He was confused.

"I'll plan something. On Friday, I'll let you know my plan."

"Ok. Thank you so much, Bella. I owe you this time."

"It's ok dad. I'm glad to help."

"I got to go now. I have to pick Jen up from the mall."

"Ok. Bye." I sighed. What did I get myself into? I grabbed a pillow and screamed into it.

"Bella. Are you crazy?" Emmett said and snatched my pillow away.

"I have no idea why I said those stuff. Now I'm clueless on what to do."

"It's your parent's anniversary right?" Alice said. I nodded. She turned to Rosalie and both smiled wider.

"Can we help?" Alice asked.

"Ok. But I want it extraordinary. Bizarre, amazing, wacky, fantastic…"

"Chill, Bella. We get it already."

"It's just that I seriously don't know what to do."

"What about a romantic dinner?" Rosalie suggested.

"Done that already. Plus the cruise, vacation…"

"Whoa. A cruise? To where?" Alice cut in excitedly.

"They went to Paris for almost two weeks on their tenth anniversary. What else can you beat that? It was a fantastic getaway for them." Alice squealed.

"Let's go eat. I'm hungry," Emmett said suddenly. I stared at him in disbelief.

"What? You've gotta feed a big guy," he said while rubbing his stomach. All of us laughed. So, we decided to eat and discussed it later. I was eating my lunch and I looked at them. I realized that I had really grown to them. I was lucky to be part of their family. By thinking of it, I smiled wider, perhaps the first widest smile ever since that fateful day?

**********

It was Friday. Tomorrow would be my parent's big day. I had planned carefully with Alice and Rosalie. It would be a simple surprise as we did not have enough time to plan something big. The shrill ring from the bell brought me back to reality.

"So, what did you plan?" Edward asked while I was packing my Biology books into my bag.

"Huh?"

"Tomorrow. Your parent's anniversary?" he reminded me. I told him about my plan while walking back to my room. He smiled after hearing the plan. As we entered the room, we heard someone singing.

"Dad, why are you singing love story?" I asked.

"The lyrics exactly portray how I met your mom last time."

"Wow. But you are horrible in singing that song, dad. No offense."

"Of course I do. It's a girl song."

"Hey. Stop with the sexist comment." Edward chuckled beside me. I nudged him. He immediately stopped.

"Fine then. Why don't you sing a guy's song?"

"Hey. Stop with the singing competition. You two will never give up. And we are here to see Bella, not to compete in singing," Jen said.

"Pick a song, dad," I said, challenging him. I took his guitar and sat on the couch. I looked at him, waiting for a song.

"What about tongue tied?"

"Hey, both of you. Only sing the chorus and only one song. Got it?" Jen demanded. We both nodded excitedly, challenging each other. I played a few chords of the song before I started to sing.

_I need a little more luck than a little bit_

_Cuz every time I get stuck the words won't fit_

_And every time that I try I get tongue tied_

_I __need a little good luck to get me by_

_I need a little more help than a little bi__t_

_Like the perfect one word no one's heard yet_

_Cuz every time that I try I get tongue tied_

_I need a little good luck to get me by this time_

I stuck my tongue out at Nick. The others had their mouth opened hanging. Well, everyone except Edward. Alice and Rosalie looked at each other. _Uh oh. I don't like the look of their faces._

"Bella, why didn't you tell us that you can sing? Save all the trouble for searching a singer for our band. Join us," Alice said excitedly.

"A band? Cool. Bella, why don't you join them?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. You should've told us," Rosalie continued. Edward smirked and Alice saw it. She looked at me then him.

"Wait a minute. You knew she could sing and never bother to tell us?" Alice asked. Edward shrugged.

"I told him to not tell you guys," I explained.

"Bella, why didn't you tell them that wonderful talent of yours? Join the band. It'll be fun," Nick said.

"Let me think bout it. Now dad. It's your turn to sing tongue tied." He took the guitar and started singing. I laughed. His voice wasn't suitable for the song. After he finished the chorus, I looked at Jen.

"Ok. Bella won. And you, do not ever ask for another song," Jen said to Nick.

"One more. Since she said I was horrible at love story, I want to hear her sing it. Last one. I promise," Nick begged. I confidently took the guitar back and sang. Edward smiled my favorite crooked grin as I sang the song. I finished the song with a smile.

"Ish. Fine. You win, Bella," Nick said.

"Thank you." I bowed and smiled wider.

**********

Saturday finally came. I asked Jen to go to the mall in the town. She had to buy a dress for herself, but using Nick's credit card of course. I booked a suite for them. The plan was for Jen to shop. After all, shopping is Jen's favorite pastime, her one and only passion. Alice found out about this, and they even planned on going shopping together, with Rosalie too. Then, she would be at a spa, relaxing. At night, Nick would bring her to eat at a luxurious restaurant. They would send a night at a suite. We were going to decorate the suite to create a romantic night for them.

"Bella, we have to go now," Emmett said. The guys decided to help too. We were going to the florist to get some roses for the suite. I took my handbag and walked to the jeep. And again, Edward helped me. Suddenly my cell rang.

"Bella, I'm nervous. Can you believe it?" Nick said. He was indeed nervous.

"Dad, chill. Now, mom would be at the spa. She would not know what's going to happen. Just follow the plan. Besides, don't you have your anniversary every year?" Of course, Jen didn't know the plan. She would be pleased with all the surprises ahead.

"Yes, I know. You made the reservations right? Under the name Mischaux?"

"Yes, dad. Chill. Everything is under control. Don't worry."

"Ok. No reason to worry right? With you and your friends planning. It should be perfect right?"

'Yes. Dad, you are worrying for nothing. And now, I'm hanging up. I still have stuff to do." I hung up and rolled my eyes.

"My dad is being like a nervous wreck, even though this is their 18th anniversary." Edward laughed. We reached the shop and looked around. I estimated that I would need two dozens of red roses. But by seeing all the flowers, I was tempted to buy more.

"Bella, two dozens right?" Alice asked. I nodded. I walked around and spotted freesias. Edward walked behind me and smiled.

"Has anyone told you that you smell like freesias?"

"No. That's a first." Then, Emmett walked to us with a huge sunflower in his hands and beamed.

"Don't you think I look as happy as the sunflower?" I laughed. He looked like a child.

"Bella. I don't think two dozens is enough," Rosalie said. I thought and remembered the size of the suite we booked. Plus, Nick had to give her a bouquet too. I did some mental calculations.

"Five dozens then. I want to put some in the bath tub," I said. Alice shrieked and ordered five dozens without any hesitations.

"Whoa. Bella. Don't you think it's way too extreme?" Emmett asked.

"Nope. Nothing will be extreme."

"Well, I think it's nice. You should learn some from her too," Rosalie continued, winking sexily at Emmett. I shuddered internally. We waited for the florist to pack the red roses for us while looking at the flowers decoration they had. Edward suddenly walked up to me with a huge smile on his face.

"A freesia for a girl who smells like it," he joked. I laughed.

"Edward, you don't have too."

"I want too. Just accept it, Bella." I took the flower at the same time two things happened. First, Alice and Rosalie squealed. Second, I heard someone calling me.

"Bella?" A voice called. I looked over and saw them. I gasped. _No. This can't be happening._

**So how is it? i'm sorry that edward's pov is short but im trying to fast forward the time so i can finish the story within 20 chapters. Pls review!! it'll make me happy:)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey!! i've been very busy this week. so i wrote this chapter in a rush. i hope it turns out ok. thanks to those who reviewed!! you guys made me anxious to write more;) and i've a good news. this story is in one of the c2s. its called humans and vampires. do check it out as there are many interesting stories in it. and many of you guessed the people to be Aaron's and Drew's friends. Read this chapter to have your question answered;) ENJOY!!**

**_I do not own anything_**

"Bella?" he called again. I tried to pull myself together and smiled.

"Oh my gosh. It's really you. We've been looking for you. Do you remember us?" I looked at my friends. They were confused. It was no use denying that I wasn't that Bella. _Wait a minute. They have been looking for me? I thought everyone thought that I was dead too._

"We knew the stories were untrue. Remember Uncle Karl? He accidentally…"

"Bella, are you alright?" Edward asked, cutting Brett off. _Uncle Karl. What did he tell them?_

"Bella?"

"I'm fine. Everyone this is Brett and Chad. This is Emmett, Edward, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper." I gestured my hand, introducing them.

"Bella, you are turning white again," Emmett said worriedly.

"I will be fine. I need some time."

"Anyway, Uncle Karl accidentally slipped while talking to us a few months after that tragedy. He said you weren't in the house. You were at the park while your family was…" Brett didn't finish the sentence but I knew what happened.

"What happened?" Alice asked. Her eyes were filled with curiosity.

"You don't know?" Chad asked. All of them shook their heads. I sighed. Brett and Chad looked at me.

"I haven't told them. It's unnecessary."

"What do you mean by unnecessary?" Chad asked.

"We've gotta go now. We have stuff to do." I quickly grabbed the roses and rushed out of the shop.

"Bella. Who are they? What happened?" Alice asked.

"If you don't tell, we could ask them. I just got their number," Rosalie threatened.

"You guys. Stop it," I said angrily. Edward automatically placed his hand on my back, rubbing circles, soothing me. I took a few deep breaths._ I just got used to my new lifestyle. I socialize. I make new friends. I even have my own family. Why are they here now? Why are they ruining this?_ After we were done creating the romantic mood in the suite, we went back to school. The ride was quiet. Alice and Rosalie didn't demand to know more. I went into my bedroom and accidentally slammed the door too hard. Alice and Rosalie were shocked. I went to the cupboard and looked at the picture. I cried silently that night.

_"Bella, I've been looking for you too." I tried running away but he caught me._

_"Don't try to run, my little princess. Now, I'm going to finish what I have started." Then, he took out a gun from his jacket. He pulled the trigger and I screamed._

I woke up suddenly, with Alice and Rosalie rushing into my room. I was shaking terribly. The dream was so real. _What if the dream really do come true? What if Uncle Karl is actually finding for me?_ I looked at the clock. 11.45 am. _Did I sleep that long?_

**********

A week later

It had been a week. Nick and Jen thanked us for that special day. They were delighted and grateful for our help. Alice and Rosalie stopped pestering me about my past. Brett and Chad also didn't call. The whole week, I went to classes as usual. I didn't engage in any conversation with my friends. They knew to leave me alone to my thoughts.

A month later

In the background, I could hear Mr. Novingtam mumbling about the human system. As I counted slowly to ten, the bell rang. Finally. I dashed out of the class. I was grateful for today was Friday. _No school tomorrow._ I went back to my room alone.

Edward's POV

Bella had been like a zombie for more than a month. Brett and Chad didn't contact us but we didn't want to. We were afraid. Since that day of encounter, Bella ignored us. She attended her classes, ate silently and went to bed early every single day. My heart ached for her. She was so broken. Alice and Rosalie also didn't ask her about what Chad and Brett were talking about. They kept their mouth shut. The last time they pushed her, she was having nightmares. But now, it was worse. She hadn't said a word and her nightmares were getting worse according to Alice and Rosalie. My thoughts were pushed away when the bell finally rang. I saw Bella dashed out of the room. I walked back to my room and found the others were there.

"I have no idea that it'll make her worse," Alice cried. She had been blaming herself since that day. Rosalie too.

"Alice, you didn't know," Jasper comforted her.

"Well, now she doesn't want to talk with us. And her nightmares… I feel so hopeless, not able to help her."

"Right now, she needs all of us. She will tell us soon when she wants too," I said.

"But it has been more than a month, Edward," Rosalie whimpered. I sighed. They were right. _How can we help Bella?_ The next day, Alice and Rosalie decided to go to the mall to 'release their stress'. Emmett, Jasper and I went to the basketball court and played with the other guys. About an hour later, Bella jogged by. She paused for a while and watched us play. I was horrified when I looked at her face. She showed no expression. Her face was blank. Emmett and Jasper noticed her too. The other guys stopped playing.

"Whoa. What happened to Bella?" Tyler asked, breaking off the unbearable silence.

"Something. But she wouldn't tell us," Jasper replied. She turned and jogged away. We continued playing, but my head wasn't in the game. In the end, my team lost. But they didn't care who won this time. Tyler, Emmett and Jasper were also disturbed with the image of broken Bella. When we went back to our room, Alice and Rosalie were there.

"Looks like the shopping trip didn't help you two this time," Emmett said.

"I know! Unbelievable right?" Alice replied. Rosalie sighed.

"That's it. Let's go to her room now," Emmett said.

"No, you can't. Emmett, you'll make it worse," I said.

"We can't stay here and do nothing. We've been waiting for more than a month for her to come by. And look at it. She's a zombie now. She needs all of us. She needs to know that we are here for her," Emmett exclaimed.

"She knows that we are here for her. She'll come to us soon," I convinced myself…everyone.

"Then, we shall remind her of that. I'm going now. Are you guys in or not?" Emmett retorted. I wouldn't want to be out of this. If this could help Bella, then I would do anything even though it would break my heart doing so. In the end, all of us went. Alice fumbled to open the door with her keys. She was no less nervous than I was. We walked in and saw her staring blankly at the window.

"Bella. I can't let you do this to yourself. You have to wake up, Bella," Emmett said harshly. I glared at him. _Can't he say it in a softer tone?_

"Bella. Wake up," Emmett continued. He shook her body. Alice and Rosalie quickly went to them to stop Emmett. Bella turned her head and stared at us.

Back To Bella's POV

The others came into the room. Emmett started to say something but I tuned him out. I continued to gaze outside the window. Suddenly, I felt my body shaken vigorously. After it stopped, I turned my head to look at them. They looked so upset with me. _I must be a disappointment to them. I treat them badly right after they accepted me to be part of them._

"I'm sorry," I muttered. I looked at their blurred images. I realized that my eyes were watery. Not here, I thought. I quickly went into my room, locking the door behind me. I let the tears flowed and the sadness took over me. I crouched and wept silently. Suddenly, the door opened. _Didn't I lock the door just now?_ Then I saw Rosalie's hand. _Great. I've totally forgotten that she's great at pick locking._ Emmett pulled me into a bear hug. It was comfortable, being hugged by him. I cried, wetting his shirt. But I couldn't control myself. So I let myself cried, ignoring all of them. Emmett hugged me, didn't want to let me go.

"That's it, Bella. Let it all out," Emmett said softly.

"Aaron…" I suddenly cried his name. _Shit. I totally forgot that it's Emmett, not Aaron._ But my tears kept running. I couldn't stop it. Once there were no more tears to shed, I pulled away.

Emmett's POV

My brotherly instincts kicked in. I ran to Bella and hugged her. She let herself cried. This was the first time she cried with all of us around her. She couldn't control her emotions anymore.

"That's it, Bella. Let it all out," I said softly. I didn't care that my shirt was wet from her tears. All I care was her. Everyone was quiet. Bella's crying was the only sound we heard.

"Aaron…" she suddenly cried. _Who's Aaron?_ But I couldn't ask her now or she will shut us out again. Then, she pulled herself away.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. _Why would she be sorry? She has been saying sorry for so many countless times. She should tell us her story. But I know she isn't ready. I will wait, even though I know I'll be impatient._

"Bella, you can tell us anything. We will swear to secrecy," Alice said.

"It's not about you going to tell other people," she whispered.

"Finally, you talk. I've been wondering who you sold your voice to," I joked. She laughed weakly.

"It's about me. And I bring this trouble by myself. I need some time to sort it out," she continued.

"You said that before. Two months ago. You said you needed time. And we gave you time. Bella, the question is, how much time do you need? Or are you avoiding this?" Edward suddenly burst. Bella looked at him. Jasper tried to calm him but Edward was still angry.

"I know, Edward. I know. I just didn't know it'll take that much time, Edward," she answered.

"Then, let us help you. We are here, Bella. For you. You can trust us."

"You will not understand."

"Then, make me understand. I'm sick of standing here, doing nothing to help you." He slowly walked to us, bent down and held Bella's face with his two hands.

"Bella, you are important to me. I'm literally going crazy. I hate myself for not being able to help you. You are in so much pain."

"I'm sorry. I'll tell you guys." I was sensing a 'but' at the end of her sentence. I was right.

"But…" she continued.

"You will need time. You are not ready to tell us," Edward finished off her sentence. She nodded. Edward and I sighed. _How could she not be ready? It's taking too much time. And she's getting worse._

Bella's POV

They still cared for me even though I didn't deserve it. My cold attitude didn't even change that. They still wanted me in their family. The rest of the weekend was spent with watching movies. We didn't do anything else. Soon, Monday came. There would be another match this week. The guys practiced harder. After Biology, I went to gym. They would not be practicing now as it was their break time. I looked at my watch. Two hours until they would come back. I picked up the ball and threw into the net. As I was throwing the ball, I thought of Aaron, Drew, mom, dad…then I thought of Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Nick and Jen. I had to prepare myself to tell them. Brett and Chad also deserved to know the truth behind their best friends' deaths. I took out my cell and called Emmett.

"Emmett, please come to the gym now. Bring the others with you too."

"Bella, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just want a game of basketball."

"But I thought you don't want that to be known for all."

"I changed my mind. I think they'll know about it soon. I want them to know it first by myself."

"Ok We'll be there soon." Fifteen minutes later, they came. They were confused, wondering why I asked them to be here. I looked at Emmett.

"I thought you would want to tell them yourself," he explained. I nodded.

"Bella, why do you want us to come here?" Alice asked.

"Have you guys ever wondered why I can plan for you guys to win in basketball matches?" I asked. They nodded.

"I thought you were being observant?" Alice asked.

"Being observant isn't enough, Alice. The truth is, I play basketball too. The reason I don't want anyone to know is because…" I saw Emmett smiled, encouraging me to go on. The others noticed it too.

"The private school I went to before this school…Let's just say that the girls were unhappy that I could play so they made my life miserable. They would do any tricks to get back at me. They even called me whore for playing with the guys. They accused me that I play just to get the guys' attentions…" Alice and Rosalie gasped.

"Oh my gosh. No wonder you can't take any sexist comments," Alice said.

"The guys were no different at all. They kept teasing me that my gender was mixed up at birth. Anyway, I figured that playing basketball is a huge mistake that a girl can do," I continued.

"And Emmett knew about this?" Rosalie asked. I nodded.

"It's not his fault. I made him promise to keep it as a secret," I quickly added.

"Bella, this school is different. I'm sure everyone will accept of you playing basketball," Jasper said. I smiled. I hugged each of them, feeling a wave of relief over me.

"Let's play a basketball game," Emmett suggested.

"Count me out," Alice said.

"Me too," Rosalie added. The both of them sat on the bench.

"I want Bella," Emmett said quickly. I looked at him and he was smiling.

"Whatever. Jasper and I are going to win, right Jasper?" Edward said, challenging us.

"Loser treats deserts," Emmett said. Jasper and Edward nodded.

"Lady first," Edward said, passing me the ball. I grabbed the ball, dribbled across the court so fast that Jasper and Edward didn't realize that the game had started. I quickly aimed and threw in the ball.

"Woohoo! Go Bella!" Alice cheered.

"Bella scores. Three points for her," Rosalie commentated. I laughed at my friends. I looked over at Jasper and Edward. Their mouth was hung opened and their faces were stamped with disbelief.

"You better close your mouth before any flies enters," I joked, using one of Nick's lines. Emmett laughed loudly and the game started again. Although they were bigger in size than I was, but they didn't know what Nick had taught me. I would always duck and they would always be taken by surprise. I also put my knowledge in physics and math in use. Soon, the game was over, with Emmett and me winning. Emmett started his victory dance again but this time, he pulled me along. I laughed and joined his silly dance.

"Wow. Bella, you are really good," Jasper said, panting, catching up his breath.

"Guess we shouldn't be surprised," Edward said. That night, Jasper and Edward bought ice creams for us. _Am I ready to tell them now? I've already told them about my basketball experience. So what should I do?_

The whole week I played basketball with some of the guys during the evening. Tyler wasn't surprised at all when he found out that I could play. I would always team up with Emmett. They were right about this. The other guys didn't make fun of me. Alice and Rosalie supported me in playing too. Only the cheerleaders were unhappy. I was expecting that anyway, with Tanya, Lauren and Jessica. The week passed by very fast and I was back to myself again. I wasn't the 'zombie' again, according to Emmett. Soon it was Friday again.

"Are you sure you will be alright, Bella?" Alice asked. Alice and Rosalie were going out with their boyfriends. It was about time too. They had been worried about me until they didn't do anything fun.

"Yes. And I'm a hundred percent sure. Now stop asking me again or I'll tell Jasper that you are going to bail him out on this date," I threatened.

"Ok. If you are sure."

"Now both of you go out and have fun. Don't come back before midnight," I shouted to them as they walked out of the door with Jasper and Emmett. I decided to watch a movie so I put on Confessions Of a Shopaholic. The movie reminded me of Alice and Rosalie but both of them were well off while Rebecca Bloomwood was stuck with financial problems. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door while watching the movie. I walked to open the door, feeling curious. The person standing at the door was none other than Edward.

"We need to talk."

**To those who guessed Brett and Chad (Aaron's and Drew's friends), yay!! a round of appluase for you. i know there are lots of povs in this chapter, jumping from one to another. i hope you guys can understand the story. and those who have been reading this story, you might realized that this is the 1st time i put in Emmett's pov eventhough its short. so how is it? pls share your thoughts by pressing the little green button at the bottom;)**

**Love,**

**Izzie09**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey..i'm so sorry for not updating when i promised that i would update in a fortnight. i have my own personal reasons. pls forgive me. i hope all of you still read this story.. thanks for all your reviews and pms.**

**_I do not own anything_**

"We need to talk." _What does he want to talk about?_ I opened the door wider, inviting him in. I paused the movie and sat on the couch. He slowly sat beside me. The look on his face made me even more curious. I could see his pain through his eyes.

"Bella, I know it might be not the right time but I really need to know." _Huh? What is he talking about?_

"But first, please don't shut me away from you again after what I'm about to talk to you. I can't bear it again. But I can't bear not knowing what's going on with you either. So I need to know, Bella." He took both my hands in his.

"Bella, I need to know what happened to you. What happened which made you like this. It hurts me to see you like this. I can't let this go on. You had your time. Please tell me what's going on. Please, Bella. I won't tell anyone else. But I need to know." I placed my finger at his lips to stop him. I sighed. _I guess I should tell him. He's the one who made talking easier. He's the one who I'll go if I need help._ I sighed.

"I have two brothers, Aaron and Drew. I love them till death." I blurted it quick, before I started to regret for telling him. I started imagining them, how happy I was with them.

"I was waiting for both of them to come back from their basketball practice. I was waiting in the living room until my mom asked me to clean my room. I reluctantly did so. Then, Uncle Karl came with both my brothers. My mum started screaming. I was curious so I crept to the stor. I heard every single thing. Anyway, story cut short, he killed them. My brothers and my parents. I saw how cold bloodedly he killed them. Then, I ended up in an orphanage. I was adopted by Nick and Jen when I was seven years old." Tears started trickling down. Edward hugged me and I cried. He tried comforting me.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't know it's this deep. I'm sorry for pushing you." I pulled away and looked into his eyes.

"It's ok. I'm fine. I've never told anyone bout it."

Edward's POV

_I felt horrible. What kind of person I am? I've been curious all the while. She had a strong wall around her since the moment I saw her. No one had ever broken down her wall. She always put a mask, shadowing her true self. Oh my god. What have I done now? I must have hurt her now._

Bella's POV

I looked at Edward's face. It was full of emotions. First was sympathetic, then it went to guilty and nervous.

"Edward, it's alright. You don't have to feel bad about it. I actually feel better now, after telling you the story. I've kept it to myself for too long."

"Bella, there's another thing I want to talk about."

"Which is?" _What else does he want to talk about? I thought he only wanted to discuss that matter._

"Bella, I know this might not be the right time to say it…"

"Just spill it, Edward."

"Bella, I like you," he said it in one breath.

"Well, I like you too. You're my friend, Edward."

"No, I mean, I love you, Bella. Since the moment I saw you. Even though you didn't really like us that time, but you took my breath away." I was shocked. _Does he really love me? I love him too, but I can't take it if he breaks my heart. I realized I had fallen in love with him when I got to know him better. Since the day we had the 20 questions, I found myself loving him. There would be butterflies in my stomach and my heart will beat a thousand times in a minute whenever I see him._

"I'm sorry, Bella. Maybe I shouldn't said that just now. It's obviously a bad time now." I moved forward and looked him in the eyes. My lips touched his. The kiss was soft and sweet.

"See!! I told you they are cute together." The voice brought both me and Edward back to reality. We pulled away from the amazing kiss that we just shared and looked at the door. _Great. They are back._

"Alice, have you ever heard of knocking the door?" Edward asked.

"This is practically my room. So why would I knock?" Edward grumbled.

"Then, have you heard something which called privacy?" Edward glared at Alice.

"Well, I'm so sorry, bro. Not everyone has the energy at one o'clock in the morning." I quickly glanced at the clock. _Wow. Did we spend so much time?_

"So are you two a couple now?" Rosalie asked.

"Err…" _Are we?_ Suddenly Edward knelt on the floor, taking my hands. _What is he doing now?_

"Bella, would you do the honor of becoming my girlfriend?"

"Yes." He grinned my favorite crooked smile and kissed me again.

"Ahem." We looked over and saw Emmett walking towards us.

"Sorry to break this up. But I have something to say to little Eddie here. If you break Bella's heart, I'll break you. Understand?" I giggled at Emmett.

"I'm your brother, Emmett. Shouldn't you say that to Bella?" Edward teased.

"She happens to be Bella. She's like a sister to me, no offense Alice. You're too hyper and sometimes I can't keep up with you."

"None taken. As long as you accompany us to shopping," Alice teased.

"Thanks a lot, Emmett," Edward said sarcastically.

"But you don't have to worry a single thing. I don't plan to break her heart. I love her too much to do so," Edward continued. Alice and Rosalie "aww…" at the same time after what Edward had said. I felt touched and kissed Edward.

"Let's leave this two lovebird alone," Alice said, dragging Jasper into her room. I assumed that Rosalie and Emmett would be in Emmett's room since they left our room. I looked at Edward, starting to think how lucky I am to deserve him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Just how lucky am I to be here with you."

"So do I." Then, I yawned.

"Go to sleep. It's late now," Edward said, carrying me in bridal style to my room.

"Let me down, Edward."

"Just relax. I won't drop you." I was feeling very tired so I didn't fight back. He laid me on me on my bed and pulled my sheets. My eyelids were starting to be very heavy.

"I love you, Bella." I distinctly heard Edward said it. But I couldn't be so sure. I was too tired. Soon, my sleepiness took over me and that night was one of the best nights I ever slept. The next day, Edward came to my room early in the morning. When I woke up, I saw him going through my books on the table.

"Morning."

"Morning, Bella. Do you read all of these books?" He waved the Pride and Prejudice book. The book was thorn in different places because I had read the book numerous times. It was one of my favorites.

"How could you read it?" He pointed to all the thorn pages.

"It's a nice book. And I love it."

"How many times did you read this book?"

"I don't know. I stopped counting after 10." He shook his head and walked towards me.

"I think you should get ready now before Alice comes in. We are going out for breakfast." I quickly washed up and dressed. We went to the court and Edward offered to buy breakfast for me.

"So, Bella, tell us what happened last night."

"Something happened," I teased.

"Come on, Bella. Tell us. Please?" Alice pouted. No one could resist Alice's pout. I looked away quickly and prayed that the guys would be back in time. After it seemed like ages, the guys came back.

"Bella, what's up? You have the pain look in your face," Emmett joked.

"That's because your sister here is torturing me," I said while glaring at Alice.

"What?" Alice whined. Everyone laughed. Edward sat beside me and placed my breakfast in front of me. It was sandwich and orange juice. I ate slowly while talking with the others. Alice made plans so that we could go to the mall later. I grumbled.

"It'll be ok. I'll be with you," Edward reassured me. I smiled back and went to the mall after we ate. We walked aimlessly around the mall. Alice and Rosalie had gone to the mall yesterday so they didn't feel the need to buy anything. Right now, all of us just want to be together with each other. The whole day was spent just like that. We would just be talking and keeping each other's company. Soon, Monday came. Edward stood by the door, waiting for me. I raised my eyebrows, wondering why he was here.

"I thought maybe we should go to class together," Edward said sheepishly while playing with his hair. I smiled thinking how lovely he was. As we were walking together, Edward held my hand. His hand was big yet comfy and soft. We walked to English, holding each other's hands. The girls glared at me while the guys were looking at Edward with their mouth hanging. Edward would smile whenever he caught them staring. Finally, we reached the class safely. Well, not really safe. Mike was shooting death glances towards Edward. The whole week was like that. I hate being in the centre of attention. After classes, Edward would come to my room. He never left me except when I was going to sleep of course. Soon it was Friday.

"Bella, when are you going to tell the rest?" Edward asked. I knew what he was talking about and sighed.

"I don't know, Edward."

"It's ok, Bella. I'll be here no matter what. Maybe you will feel much better if you tell them. They are also curious but they don't want to push you more." I thought of the pros and cons. After a very deep thought, I had decided to tell. That night, before I went to bed, I called Nick and Jen. I even asked Rosalie to call Chad and Brett. _I need to tell everyone now._

The next day

I was pacing in the room, feeling very nervous on what I was about to say. Everyone had gathered. Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett, Edward, Brett, Chad, Nick and Jen. I prayed silently, hoping this would work out fine.

"Bella, why are you calling all of us here? It sounded urgent," Nick said.

"I…"

"Bella. You are scaring us," Alice said.

"I have to tell you something." All of them were curious. I took a deep breath.

"I was adopted by this two marvelous couple." I gestured my hand towards Nick and Jen. They two smiled while the others gasped.

"What all of you don't know is before that. The one that I've been hiding. The reason I ask all of you to be here is because I think you deserve to know what happened. And yes, Brett and Chad. You two should listen to the whole story first. Since it involves Aaron and Drew too," I said softly when I mentioned their names. I sat on the couch next to Edward and he wrapped his arms around me.

"I was actually in the house that day."

"How is that possible? The house was on fire," Brett exclaimed.

"Let me continue please." He nodded.

"My mother sent me to my room to clean up my things when the doorbell rang. I was busy cleaning when I heard her screamed. She was angry. Then, out of curiosity, I went to the stor. I heard every single thing. Uncle Karl was bringing Aaron and Drew home after the practice that day," I paused. _Can I go on? I must go on, even though I will break down._

"I saw Uncle Karl took out a knife. He went into the house, with my parents feeling defeated." Everyone gasped. Alice's eyes went wide and Edward held me closer.

"Aaron and Drew of course tried to throw pillows at him. But they stopped after he threatened to kill our mother and he quickly placed his knife at her neck. They stopped and my father was instructed to close the door. Uncle Karl asked where I was but both my parents lied. They knew I was in the house but they lied, saying I was in the park. Uncle Karl didn't believe at first as he started calling out my name. I was too terrified so I didn't move." A tear escaped from my eyes and Edward wiped it away.

"He asked Aaron to get a rope and tied all of them. Then, he killed my parents in front of Aaron and Drew. They cried, begging him to stop. I was crying too but I forced myself to stay quiet. Then, he killed both of them too. After he killed all of them, he went to the kitchen to grab the cooking oil, pouring it over their bodies and burning them." I shuddered at the image. I could still remember it clearly. More tears escaped, but i didn't bother to wipe it away.

"I tried putting out the fire but I couldn't. Then I went upstairs and grabbed everything I could." I quickly got up but Edward stopped me.

"I'll be fine, Edward. I need to get something. I'll be back in a sec." He released his grip on my wrist and I went into my room. I took out everything I saved from the house. I walked to the living room and placed them in front of me.

"These were what I took that day," I explained. Nick picked up the photo and looked at it.

"You look exactly like your parents, Bella," Nick said.

"This is the bracelet which was passed form my grandmother to my mother. She said I could have it when I turned sixteen. I liked the bracelet since I saw it on my mother's wrist. The will was made a year before that day. I thought it'll be useful to save it. The key is to my parent's safety box in the bank. And lastly that's my birth certificate," I blurted it all out in one breath. The picture was passed from Nick to Jen then to everyone else. Everyone commented on how alike I was to my parents.

"I ran to the forest and cried myself. A few days later, someone found me sleeping on the tree. That was how I ended up in orphanage house. I went to 25 foster homes in 3 months. I acted to be a disturbing. I purposely made a huge fuss and threw any tantrum I could. I rather stay in orphanage as there were too many 'fake' foster parents," I continued.

"What do you mean by 'fake' foster parents?" Alice asked. Her eyes were red from crying.

"There was one lady who adopted me just for the sake of the money. You see, the government gives money to every single parent to raise the kids. There was a couple who locked their refrigerator so I wouldn't steal the food. It was kinda ridiculous but I was left with hunger always. There were many more. I was abused, sexually harassed and many more."

"No wonder you didn't like the idea of us adopting you," Nick said softly.

"Yeah. I remembered that you were such a nuisance. I had to ask Nick what he saw in you," Jen continued.

"That was my typical behavior to get rid of you guys. Sorry. But you two didn't give up on me. I was and still thankful for that. You two showed me love which I didn't deserve."

"Of course you deserve it, Bella. We love you so much. Since the day I met you," Nick said. I started sobbing, feeling touched.

"After that, you practically know everything," I ended my story. Jen took a look on my birth certificate.

"Oh my gosh. You are Isabella Marie Swan. The daughter of Renee, the editor before Nicole. I heard a lot bout her. I didn't know she was your mother. No wonder almost everyone from the office thought they saw you from somewhere. You looked like her," Jen exclaimed.

"Why didn't you show the will to any of the lawyers? Then you might get a better life," Jasper asked.

"I don't want Uncle Karl to find me. Only the two of us knew the whole truth. Now all of you know too. Now, it feels like a burden has just lifted off from me." I smiled. Then, Brett and Chad looked at each other. They started to shake their heads.

"What is it, Brett?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Chad?" He shook his head. _What are they hiding from me?_ Emmett walked towards me and hugged me.

"I'm so sorry for pushing you, Bella. I didn't know it was that serious," Emmett said.

"It's ok. I love you no matter what."

"You know, when you cried last week, you cried the name Aaron. Why? He's your brother right?" I chuckled.

"Emmett, you are like Aaron. That's why I think of you as my brother. He died when he was fifteen. And seeing you, I kept thinking you as Aaron."

"Really?" he asked, rather amused. Brett and Chad nodded their heads. Then, everyone gave me a group hug. I was relieved after telling them the whole truth. Edward was right. I should have told them a long time ago.

Chad's POV

When Bella told us the story, I couldn't believe it at first. I was shocked that all the while, Uncle Karl was the culprit. No one would ever expected him to be. He was like a family to all of us, especially to the Swans. But right now, I was glad that Bella found a new loving family. She deserved it. She had been suffering from what I had heard. How could so many heartless people adopt Bella? She deserved more and I was relieved when she had Nick and Jen as her parents. She had gone through so much. I looked at Brett, suddenly thought of what we had done. He also looked at me. He started to think what I was thinking about. We started to shake our heads together. _No. This is not the right time to tell her. She has her happiness now._

**I'm sure most of you are glad that it's not a cliffy. i just realized that i've put lots of cliffy for the past chapters. i hope you like this chapter:] pls review:)**


	15. Author's Note

Hey..

I know you guys must be wondering why am i putting this author's note instead of an update. And some of you might 'kill' me for not updating for a very long time..

Firstly..i'm so very sorry..i'm sorry for not updating..i'm sorry for not able to reply the reviews you gave..

Actually, the next chapter is in progress. I wrote it about a month ago. But i had author's block. So i was stuck.. And then, when i had some inspiration, i had a fight with one of my best friend. We haven't talk for weeks now. Luckily, i have another best friend to be with me. I cannot imagine going through school without any of my best friends..Oh, i'll be having my midterms soon. so i can't update soon cus i'm not allowed to use the computer as often as i could.

So..the next update would be around june. And i'll reply all those fabulous reviews when i update..

I'm soooo sorrryyyyyy!!! i really am.. i promise i'll update in june when my exams are over..

Love,

Izzie09


	16. Chapter 15

**Hey...sorry for taking a super long time to update. And i'm sorry that this is a short chapter. after not writing a long time, i have lost my touch to this story..anyways..thanks for all the reviews. love you guys very much!!! Most of you guessed correctly... its all in this chapter. Finally my exams are over and i can continue writing this story..i hope its ok..**

**_I do not own anything._**

1 ½ month later

"And the cytoplasm…" I blocked the stupid video with an annoying man telling us what is cytoplasm and something about life processes. I wasn't listening to it. Why did we have to watch the documentary? It was utterly boring. I turned my head and smiled. Edward seemed to hate watching the video too. His thumb brushed lightly my hand and chuckled. I guessed the word 'annoyed' was plastered all over my face. Finally after almost two hours of watching a useless educational video, the bell rang. I didn't hesitate to pack my bag and was glad to get out from there.

"We shall continue this video tomorrow," Mr. Novingtam announced. Everyone including me groaned. He was the most likely to love the video so much as he only had to do so little work to torture us students. Edward held my hand and we walked together back to my room. We had been going out for more than a month now. Everyone was either envy or jealous. Especially the slutty Tanya, Lauren and Jessica. They even tried to seduce Edward in front of me when they knew that we were together.

_Flashback_

"_Hey Edward," Tanya slurred. I felt disgusted. She and her two other friends had practically put women on earth to shame. _

"_Tanya," Edward said, trying to hide his annoyance._

"_Edward, are you free tonight? Maybe we should go out together. Have fun, you know. Dump that horrible girlfriend of yours." What the hell? Who does she think she is? I was about to slap her when Edward opened his mouth to say something._

"_Tanya, have you ever looked into a mirror? Bella's so much better than you. WE would not go out together. I'M with Bella. So stop pestering me." My mouth hung open. Edward had always been the gentleman one. And this behaviour totally took me away._

"_B-but.." Tanya stuttered._

"_Save it, Tanya. I'm sick of you and your friends. Stop disturbing us. If you want to sell your body, sell it to someone else," Edward said with repulsion._

"_NO ONE HAS EVER SAID NO TO ME," Tanya screamed. Suddenly everyone at the hallway stopped doing whatever they were doing and turned their heads toward us._

"_I JUST DID, TANYA. SO STOP ALL THIS NONSENSE!" Edward screamed. This was the first time I saw Edward screamed at a girl. He once told me that he was taught by his parents to not scream at a girl. And he just did it._

_End of Flashback_

"Bella?" Edward's voice pulled me back to reality.

"Yeah?"

"What were you thinking about?"

"Remember you told Tanya off?" He nodded.

"I thought you can't scream at a girl. I mean, didn't you told me before that your parents taught you to be gentleman and all, which includes no screaming at a girl?"

"Bella, she was getting under my nerves. I can't let her do that to you. You mean everything to me."

"Thank you, Edward. I love you."

"And I love you too. Come on, it's time to go." Since last week, the basketball practices were getting more harsh and tiring. Ever since they managed to land a spot in the finals, Coach Luthor doubled their practices. Edward was also worried about the finals. They were going against Riverdale High. I heard from the guys that they were good. So practically, everyone was in stress to win the game this weekend.

"Ok everyone. Keep moving. We want that victory this week. And in order to get that, we have to work hard," Coach Luthor said. They started off with drilling. They ran across the court for almost 10 minutes and started to practice throwing balls. I sat on the bench with the girls. At the corner of the room, the cheerleaders were practicing too. And of course, they were drooling over the guys. We were not worried about our guys so we read magazines. This went on for the whole week. Sometimes, we would just go back to our room. Soon, it was Saturday.

"Hey. You seemed all worked up," I said. I massaged his shoulders, attempting to calm him down.

"Tomorrow's the big game. Of course I'm worked up."

"Chill. You guys will be fine. I've seen you guys play. No one will beat you."

"But you haven't seen them play, Bella. They are not only good but they play dirty."

'Edward's right. They would do anything to win. Last year they knocked out a guy. Guess what? He ended up with a sprained knee. And he was the best player for that school," Emmett said.

"Yeah. We were in the finals with them last year too. We won but we had to send a few of us to the hospital for check ups. You can never guess what they did," Jasper continued.

"What did they do?" I asked.

"Before the game, they poisoned some of our drinks. During the middle of the game, we were shortage of players. But some of us continued. They even threw balls at us. They wanted us to be angry and create commotion. They hoped we would so the judges would give us penalty," Jasper answered.

"So what did you all do?" I was getting more interested in it. I wanted to know first what would happen tomorrow.

"Of course we played it cool. I think the judges also knew they were playing dirty. But that's all over now. We won and we would want to win again tomorrow," Edward said.

"Enough with the basketball already. Let's go grab lunch," Alice whined. We walked to the food court and the wind was blowing gently. It was a great day. After lunch, Chad and Brett came over. They had called earlier that thew were coming but didn't tell us why. They said there was something important and they had to come.

"What's up?" I asked curiously.

"Err…" Brett placed his hand behind his neck, thinking of what to say.

"Chad?" I looked at him, hoping he would say something.

"Bella, please don't be mad. We didn't know anything about it till you told us everything. We are very sorry. Heck, sorry doesn't even quite cover it."

"What is it, Chad?" I was getting more impatient. _What did they do till a sorry can't cover it?_

"We accidentally told Uncle Karl that you are here. He's here too. He's the coach for the Riverdale High basketball team," he answered quickly in one breath.

"YOU WHAT?" I started hyperventilating.

"We're so sorry. When we came across you that day at the florist, we told Uncle Karl. We thought he might appereciate it since he was close to all of us like a family, you know. Until you told us what happened to Aaron and Drew only we were terrified. Bella, we didn't do it on purpose. We seriously didn't know," Brett finally said. I couldn't move. _Uncle Karl is here. What am I going to do?_

"Bella?" I looked at Edward. He was worried too. Then, everything went pitch black.

Uncle Karl's POV

They had found Bella, my little princess. She was studying in Colorado High School. Her adopted parents, Nick and Jen, were rich enough to send her there. The school was prestigious. Not many people could enroll there. _Lucky Bella,_ I thought. I was flipping through the file. They told me two months ago that they saw her. Right after that, I hired a private investigator to find out more about her. But there was something that made me curious. Why did she vanish when her whole family was dead? Why did she pretend to be dead too? If she was at the park, she would come home screaming for her family. But she didn't do that. She just vanished.

I bought previous issues of Teen Vogue which had her pictures. She modeled beautifully. She had grown to be a beautiful lady. Just like Charlie and Renee. She was the perfect combination from both of them. That was how they recognized her. I traced my fingers around her pictures. I smiled. _Finally, Bella. Finally, I found you._

Edward's POV

"She's awake," Alice called out. I quickly walked to her bed and held her hand. She looked so pale. I tried reading her face, wondering what was on her mind.

"Hey," her voice croaked. Alice brought a glass of water for her which she gratefully took it. She took a few gulps and sighed. I circled my thumb around her palm, calming her.

Bella's POV

I couldn't believe it. _Was it a dream? I had countless dreams about him finding me._ Edward's thumb slowly circled around my palm. I sighed.

"Edward, can you accompany me for a walk?" I asked.

"Bella, you should know that since tomorrow is the game, the Riverdale High players are here. And they are staying at the hotel. Which means that you can bump into Uncle Karl," Chad advised.

"It's alright. I need a walk to clear my head. Besides, I have Edward with me. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"Bella, maybe it's not a good idea to take a walk now," Alice said.

"Seriously, I'm fine. I just need to think and process everything." I got up from the bed with the help of Edward. After reassuring them a few more times, I was out of the dorm. I walked aimlessly until I reached the park. I closed my eyes and breathe in the cool air. I started thinking back about my life. How it changed so much since the moment I was an orphan. I was lucky to be surrounded by loving family and friends.

"Bella, I think we better go now. The others will worry about you. It has been an hour already," Edward's voice brought me back to reality. I held his hand and we started walking back until we heard someone calling out my name.

"Bella," a voice called out. I froze. I recognized that voice. I would never forget about it. I slowly turned around with Edward. There stood in front of me was Uncle Karl.

"Hi," I managed to come out with a voice. Edward wrapped his hand around my waist, bringing me closer to him.

"Don't you remember me? I'm Uncle Karl." _Of course I remember you. I would never forget how you murder my whole family cold bloodedly._

"Of course, Uncle Karl. How could I ever forget about you?" I tried to smile. Edward stiffen beside me as Uncle Karl approached us. He opened his arms, waiting for me to hug him back. _Remember Bella. He doesn't know that you know about it. You just have to act all innocent and the Bella he knows. You have to do it, _I reassured myself. I slowly walked towards him and hugged him back.

"Bella, I'm so glad that I've found you. When Brett and Chad told me about you, I couldn't believe my ears. So how are you now?"

"I'm o-okay," I stuttered. He looked at his watch.

"I've to go now. My team needs me. Bella, I'm glad that I've found you. I missed you so much. Perhaps tomorrow we can spend some time together?" _Heck no. There's no way I'm following you. I do not trust you._

"She might be busy, Coach Karl. She is helping the school's team too," Edward said, saving me from him.

"Helping huh? It must be in the genes. Do you know that her father was a basketball coach too?" Uncle Karl smiled. Edward nodded.

"We better go now. The others are waiting for us, Bella," Edward lied.

"I also should go now. It's nice to see you again, Bella." With that, he walked away. I let out a breath, not realizing that I had been holding my breath.

"Phew, that was close. Alice was right. We better get back now," Edward said, pulling me to walk back. Once we reached my room, Edward started telling everyone what just happened. They gasped here and there with horrified looks.

"Bella, I think you shouldn't be alone anymore," Jasper said.

"Hell no. She's going to stick with me until he's gone," Emmett said loudly.

"Emmett," Edward groaned. Edward was frustrated. He wanted to prevent all of this but he was not god. No one could stop this.

"Why don't we take turns and make sure she's not alone? Lets see. I only have gym with her," Jasper suggested.

"I have English, Maths and Biology," Edward continued.

"It's no use. I have none of you in my Physics class," I whined.

"Who's in that class?" Emmett asked.

"If you really want to know, it's Tanya and Lauren," I answered. Emmett groaned and Rosalie hugged him.

"Lets just see how it goes ok? I'm really tired now." I dragged my feet and plopped down onto my bed. The next morning, I was surprised to see the room was so bright when I woke up. I walked out of my room and found the girls at the couch. They were eating donuts and drinking coffee.

"Morning sleepyhead. Want some?" Alice offered.

"Thanks. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I thought you might want to sleep in today after what happened yesterday. Plus, today's the big day. It'll easily exhaust you. So you'll need all the sleep you can have."

"Gee, thanks Alice. I never knew you were that kind," I said sarcastically. I grabbed a chocolate donut and a cup of ice blended latte.

"I'm so deeply hurt, Bella." Alice placed her hand over her heart and wiping off a fake tear.

"Come on. Lets eat. We have a long day ahead of us," Rosalie said. After eating, Rosalie and Alice got down to business. They pushed me into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

"Make sure you use all the products we left at the counter top," Alice shouted behind the door. I jumped into the shower, hoping it would be over soon. The bathroom was filled with strawberry and freesia scent. After I was done, I put on a blue robe and walked to my room. In front of me, Alice was armed with make ups and Rosalie with the hair dryer.

"Alice, what happened to your kindness?" I asked innocently. Rosalie marched towards me and dragged me to the chair.

"Not so drastic ok? Just a simple one, please?" I pleaded.

"We shall decide that ourselves," Alice smirked with Rosalie. I groaned and closed my eyes. I didn't want to see the torture they were about to give to me. After it seemed like ages, they stopped.

"Bella, you can open your eyes now," Alice said. I couldn't believe the miracle they had done. They made my eyes smoky and a little blush, considering I blushed a lot. A smile spread widely across my face.

"You can thank us later. Now put on the shirt on your bed while we get ready ourselves." On the bed was the shirt that Alice altered for the first game I went. I smiled wider and put on the shirt with a white shorts. After everything was ready, we walked out of the dorm and headed towards the gym room. Everything was like déjà vu. Everyone slowly made their way to the entrance. The three of us walked to the locker room. The guys whistled as we walked by. We found our guys at the corner with Coach Luthor. We waited for them to settle whatever it is they were talking about. After they noticed us, they stopped discussing and came over to us.

"Hey. I love that you are wearing this shirt. In this way, no one will dare to come to you," Edward whispered while kissing me.

"Since when I belong to you?" I playfully asked and started walking away from him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"You know I love you Bella." He kissed and I deepened the kiss. Soon there were whistling and shouting. We reluctantly broke away and hugged each other.

"Good luck," I whispered. I walked with Rosalie and Alice to the seats and waited for the game to start. Soon, the two teams came out and the crowd cheered. Across the room, I saw Uncle Karl smirking. He then looked up and saw me. He gave me a scary smile and walked back to his team. His smirk left me curious. _Obviously he had planned something. The question is what did he plan? It can't be as bad as last time which the guys told us. Right?_

**So how was it? i know its not very good.. but i hope its ok.... i think the story will be done in another chapter.. pls review..**

**Love,**

**Izzie09**


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey!! im so sorry for the very long update!! it took me awhile to write this chapter. This story is now in 3 c2s; ****Edward/Bella Hurt/Comfort Stories, ****Humans and Vampires and ****T- Tastic Twilight Fanfics. pls check them out as they have lots of intersting stories too.. Thanks for all the reviews!! This chapter is the longest i've written and its the last chapter of the story. ENJOY!!!**

**_I do not own anything_**

Edward's POV

The referee whistled and the game began. I managed to get the ball and was running to the other side of the court. Suddenly, I felt myself thrown away and the ball slipped from my hands. I looked up and saw James, the captain of Riverdale High team smirking.

"Hey, you alright?" Jasper asked. I nodded and tried to stand. The game continued with the other team playing dirty. Finally, the referee whistled, signaling for break after half game. All of us ran to Coach Luthor. I caught a glimpse of the girls and they were worried. Jasper and Emmett went to the girls to comfort them. I was tempted to see Bella but I had to discuss some strategies with Coach Luthor. Now, we were being tied with the Riverdale High. Most of us were bruised and receiving treatment.

"Coach, what are we gonna do?" I asked. He looked worried. Then, Bella came running to us.

"Coach Luthor, what's the game plan now?"

"I-I..I have no idea, Bella." She was deep in her thought, looking at the other team. Suddenly, her face brightened.

"What if you guys play like last time? Be all mysterious. And probably slightly dirty too."

"What do you mean by 'slightly dirty'?" I asked.

"Lets say if they really come after you like just now, maybe you should throw the ball to them."

"Bella, don't you know the rules? We don't simply throw the ball to our opponents," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. _Has Bella gone mad?_

"What I mean was throw the ball hard at them, throwing them off the court, seeing they want the ball so much until they could throw you off."

"I like the way it sounds," Emmett boomed. I looked at Jasper, waiting for his reaction.

"Maybe it can work. Being mysterious definitely will work seeing them always targeting Edward," Jasper said.

'And we get to teach them a lesson not to mess with us," Emmett continued.

"Okay. Although I don't like the sound of it, but it might actually work," Coach Luthor said. I nodded and soon we were back into the game. Of course, Bella's plan worked out well. And the guys from the other team were pissed when we started playing dirty. Then, the real game started when they realized playing dirty wasn't going to work out for them.

"Finally the real game has started," Jasper said while running past me. I chuckled. The game was intense. We were always tied with them. After it seemed like ages and many players injured, the game ended.

Bella's POV

"The Colorado High School wins the game," the judge announced through the mike. The whole room was roared with cheers. I saw Edward in the middle of his team. When he saw me, he ran towards me. He picked me up and spun me around. I giggled like a small girl. He put me down and kissed me. I only felt him, forgetting everything around us. After some catcalls and whistling, we pulled away but he still had me in his arms.

"Come on, let's celebrate," Emmett shouted. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and we all headed to the room which the school prepared for us to celebrate. When Edward opened the door, I could see the room was filled with the Riverdale High players. At the corner of the room was Uncle Karl.

"We can celebrate this alone if you want. We can go somewhere else," Edward said. But I knew how important this was to him. He wanted to celebrate with everyone after winning the game.

"It's ok. You'll be with me, right?"

"Always," he replied me with a chaste kiss. We mingled with everyone here and there. Since Edward was the team captain, he was wanted everywhere. Everyone knew him. I saw Alice and Rosalie talking with Angela and decided to join them. As I was walking there, Uncle Karl stood in front of me. I froze.

"Hey Bella. The game was intense right? It was a pity that your school doesn't have a girls' team. I'm sure you would kick some butt if you join."

"Y-ye-yeah," I stuttered.

"Do you want to come out and talk for a while? Perhaps a catch up? I haven't seen you in a while, my princess." _My princess._ Those two words sent chills throughout my whole body. He used those two words when he decided to murder my family.

"Bella?" His voice snapped me away from the harsh memory.

"Maybe not. I'm feeling a bit tired actually," I lied.

"Not even for 10 minutes? We have lots to talk about."

"I'm really tired, Uncle Karl."

"Everything alright here?" Edward's voice calmed me. I was grateful he was beside me when I had to face Uncle Karl.

"Of course. But I think you have to bring Bella back. She's feeling tired," Uncle Karl replied. Edward looked at me and realized how uncomfortable I was at that time.

"Sure. See you later, Coach Karl." With a wave and a plastered smile, I was out of the room. We kept walking until we were out of the building.

"Edward, if you want to go to the party, go ahead. I can walk by myself."

"No. The party does not entertain me. You are all I need. We can just go back to your place and enjoy each other's company."

"Are you sure? It's your celebration in that room, Edward."

"Bella, it is meaningless without you. And we can't even achieve this victory without you. Let me have some time alone with you ok?" He looked me with his pleaded eyes. I gave in and nodded. We slowly walked back to my room, hand in hand. That night, we managed to spend a nice quiet night. We talked about everything and soon the sleepiness took over us.

"Bella! Bella! Wake up!" I groaned. Edward's hands tightened around my waist.

"Come on. You have to wake up." She pulled the blankets away and pushed the curtains, letting the bright sunlight shining into the room.

"Argh. Alice. What do you want?"

"Bella. Look at this." She flashed a flyer right in front of my nose. I snatched it and read it carefully.

"Nu uh. No way."

"Why not?" she whined.

"You can go if you want. But I'm not going." Edward's eyes fluttered open and saw the flyer.

"Why are you not going? It'll be fun," he said groggily.

"No freaking way."

"But Bella…" she whined. The door opened and Rosalie walked in with the other guys.

"Hey. What's up baby?" Jasper said, hugging Alice.

"Bella doesn't want to join this with us," she whined more.

"Bella, how could you? You have an angel's voice and you choose not to join?" Rosalie teased.

"I sing for fun. This is a competition. I don't do competitions."

"This will be fun, Bella. We promise." Alice looked me with her puppy dog eyes. I regretted looking back at her as I had to give in to her.

"Fine."

"Really?" Alice asked.

"Do you want me or not?" I was frustrated. I had never sung in front of other people.

"Yay! Thanks Bella." She hugged me and kissed me in the cheeks.

"So we get to see Bella perform?" Emmett asked, looking lost in our conversations.

"Yes big guy," Rosalie replied him. With that, every day I had to practice with them in the music room. The guys didn't know what song we were doing. We decided to keep it as a surprise for them. With just a week notice, we needed every single second that we had. Finally, the day arrived. The auditorium was packed with everyone. I was obviously getting nervous at the backstage.

"Bella. Stop fidgeting. You're making me nervous too," Angela said. I smiled meekly at her.

"Okay. You two have to stop this. We are going to win no matter what happens. We are the best," Alice said.

"The next group for this talent show is going to sing a song. And they are all hot chicks," the host introduced us.

"Lets do this," Rosalie said.

"It's now or never," Angela continued. We walked out together and the crowd cheered. The word nervous didn't even place me right. It was more than that. I held the mike and took a deep breathe. I looked over my shoulders and the girls were ready. I nodded and faced the crowd again.

"I would like to dedicate this song to my beloved friends and family. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today."

_Found myself today_

_Oh I found myself and ran away_

_Something pulled me back_

_The voice of reason I forgot I had_

_All I know is you're not here to say_

_What you always used to say_

_But it's written in the sky tonight_

_So I won't give up_

_No I won't break down_

_Sooner than it seems life turns around_

_And I will be strong_

_Even if it all goes wrong_

_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe_

_Someone's watching over me_

_Seen that ray of light_

_And it's shining on my destiny_

_Shining all the time_

_And I wont be afraid_

_To follow everywhere it's taking me_

_All I know is yesterday is goneAnd right now I belong_

_To this moment to my dreams_

_So I won't give up_

_No I won't break down_

_Sooner than it seems life turns around_

_And I will be strong_

_Even if it all goes wrong_

_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe_

_Someone's watching over me_

_It doesn't matter what people say_

_And it doesn't matter how long it takes_

_Believe in yourself and you'll fly high_

_And it only matters how true you areBe true to yourself and follow your heart_

_So I won't give up_

_No I won't break down_

_Sooner than it seems life turns around_

_And I will be strong_

_Even if it all goes wrong_

_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe_

_That I won't give up_

_No I won't break down_

_Sooner than it seems life turns around_

_And I will be strong_

_Even when it all goes wrong_

_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe_

_That someone's watching over_

_Someone's watching over_

_Someone's watching over me_

_Someone's watching over me_

I looked up and saw Uncle Karl at the door. The way he looked at me sent chills to me. I was feeling uneasy about him.

Uncle Karl's POV

I stood at the door, listening to her. She had a great voice. _But why would she choose this song? Does she know the truth? Was she at the park as Charlie had said last time? _A plan began to formulate in my brain and it was needed to be launched immediately. I looked to my right and saw the right person to help me.

Edward's POV

Bella had sung beautifully. No doubt that she was thinking about her family who were murdered while singing the song. It fitted very well. I could see her eyes glistened with tears. After every contestants performed, the lights were turned back on. Everyone rushed to the tables at the front of the room to give in their votes. I went to the backstage to look for Bella. As I reached there, Tanya stopped me.

"Looking for your bitch Bella?"

"First of all, she's not a bitch. You are. Secondly, what are you doing here?"

"I'm so hurt, Eddie. Why can't I be here? I can be here for the same reason as you."

"Just get lost." I tried pushing her away but she cornered me. She pushed me against the wall and tried to kiss me. Everything happened very fast. As Tanya tried to kiss me, Bella saw it. She stood behind Tanya and started running away. Tanya looked over her shoulders and she was smiling.

"You whore. Get away from me," I screamed.

"Don't worry, Edward. She knows the truth. I've told her. You belong to me, Edward."

"You are a sick minded person. You are in need of a therapy to fix that small brain of yours."

"Whatever Eddie. You shall realize it one day." I couldn't care anymore on what she wanted to say. I ran to the doors frantically to find my Bella. I had to explain to her.

Bella's POV

I went backstage after performing. The girls wanted to out to their guys but I wasn't ready. I had just performed in front of hundreds of people. And seeing Uncle Karl there didn't calm me at all.

"You guys go ahead first. I will join you all later," I assured them. I tried calming myself down and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Uncle Karl.

"Bella, do you know Edward very well?" _Who is he to judge how well I know my Edward?_

"I was thinking maybe you should go there and see for yourself," he continued and pointed his finger to the other entrance to the backstage. Feeling out of curiosity, I walked over and what I saw was unbelievable. Tanya kissed Edward right on the lips. Edward's head suddenly snapped towards me and I started running away. I ran past Uncle Karl and he decided to follow me along. I reached my room and cried. Suddenly Uncle Karl locked the door behind him. I turned my head to him and I no longer felt sad. I felt scared…terrified…petrified…

"Bella, I have to ask you something. Where were you when your family died in the fire?" The tears stopped flowing and my heart raced.

"I was at the park. Please excuse me for a minute. I need to clean up my face for a while," I lied.

"Bella, you look ok. Stay and talk with me." He grabbed my arm and flashed me his cunning smile.

"I'll talk to you. Let me just wash up. I'll be fine." He let go of my arm and I hurriedly went into my room. I took out my cell and texted Alice.

_Alice, I'm in trouble. Uncle Karl is in the room. Help. Pls don't reply. Come here asap. I'm in our room. Bring the guys with you too._

I went to the bathroom and splashed some water to my face. I debated on whether I should walk out. _If I don't go out, he'll know that I know. Then I'm definitely dead. If I walk out, he would suspect nothing and I might be safe. Ok, I'LL be safe, _I assured myself. I walked out of the room slowly and saw his sitting at the couch.

"So, Bella. Have you wondered how your parents died?"

"Didn't they die in the fire?"

"Yeah. I mean didn't you wonder how the fire started?"

"I don't know."

"Then where were you all the while? Why didn't you see me after that? How did you end up here?"

"Wow. That's lots of question you have, Uncle Karl," I said in a flat voice. I was starting to get worried. _Where is Alice?_

"You see, I have the feeling that you know what happened that day."

"Which is?" I tried playing dumb. _Alice, please hurry._

"Don't lie to me, Bella. Where were you honestly?" his voice rose as he stood up.

"Fine. You want the truth. You can have it. I was there. I saw you. I saw how you killed them. How could you? My dad was your best friend."

"Finally, Bella. I was waiting for you to say that. I had to ask a favor to achieve this."

"A favor?"

"Yes. You see, the little show that Tanya put up just now was fake. Edward was loyal and faithful to you. He pushed her away. But you saw what I wanted you to see."

"It was all fake?" I started sobbing.

"Yes. Love is indeed blind. You are clouded by negativity until you couldn't trust him."

"Fine then. That's my problem. What about my family? What did they do to you?"

"It was all Charlie's fault. He got Renee and married her blissfully. Do you know that I love Renee? I saw her first but she picked your dad because he was more famous than me. I hated Charlie for that. Then after school, I wanted the job as the basketball coach. And guess what? Charlie got it. I had to be his assistant. I was overshadowed by him. No one could see me if he is alive. I was Charlie's best friend. No one knows my name."

"And that was why you killed him?"

"Yes, my princess. Now you know the truth, I can't let you go."

"What do you mean?" I said while stepping backwards to my room slowly. He suddenly lunged at me and I quickly went to my room. As I tried closing the door, he slipped his hand between the door and the wall. He was so much stronger than me. He managed to push open the door without any effort. I stood in my room, praying for help.

"Bella, Bella. Doing this does not make me feel good. I love you as my daughter."

"Then why are you doing it?" I screamed.

"Because you are Charlie's daughter," he yelled. He then picked up the table lamp beside my bed and walked towards me. I had no where to go. He cornered me and trapped me between the wall and him. I kneed him in the crotch and I ran away. Luck wasn't on my side as he manage to recover quickly and chased after me. I only managed to go to the living room when he grabbed my arm and pulled me.

"That wasn't the wisest thing to do," he said.

"Let go of me!"

"I can't. Say bye to everything you have now." With that, he knocked me in the head with the lamp. It was a hard blow. I fell to the ground and felt the warm liquid around my head. I distinctly heard the door burst opened and some brawling. I heard some words which I couldn't form what they were. The darkness took over me and I couldn't care more what was going on around me.

Alice's POV

Rose, Angela and I decided to go over to our boys. Bella promised to join us later as she was still recovering from her stage fright. Or probably from the fact that Uncle Karl was here. He and his team had went back to their school a few days ago. _But why is here? How does he know that Bella is performing? _I sat on Jasper's lap while watching the others performing. After the contest ended, we decided to grab a bite. Edward went backstage to look for Bella while the rest of us would meet both of them at the food court.

"You were great out there, baby," whispered Jasper when we sat at the chair. He gave me a lingering kiss. We had to break off when Emmett and Ben wanted to drag Jasper along to order food for us girls.

"Hey, where are Edward and Bella? Edward knows we're here right?" Jasper asked.

"I don't know. But I already told Edward that we're here." Just then, Edward came to our table sulkily without Bella.

"Where's Bella?" Rosalie asked.

"I went backstage to look for Bella but the whore Tanya stopped me. She kissed me and Bella saw it. She ran away and Tanya refused to let me chase after her. But I was stronger than her so I tried to find Bella. But I couldn't find her. I thought she would be here with you all," Edward explained. As I digested all the facts that Edward just told us, I realized something.

"Wait a minute. If all of us are here, does that mean Bella is alone?" I asked worriedly. I was feeling bad about this.

"Duh. Yeah. Unless she found someone else," Emmett said sarcastically. I slapped Emmett behind his head.

"Edward, how could you do that?" I screamed.

"Jezz. I said I couldn't find her okay? Why do you have to scream in my ear?"

"Because I saw Uncle Karl just now. And Bella is alone now," I explained.

"What?!"

"We've got to find Bella now. Screw supper. I can have it anytime," Emmett said seriously while getting up from his seat. Then, something vibrated in my pocket. I took out my cell and saw a message from Bella. I quickly opened the message and started reading.

_Alice, I'm in trouble. Uncle Karl is in the room. Help. Pls don't reply. Come here asap. I'm in our room. Bring the guys with you too._

I was shocked when I read the message. Edward snatched the phone from me and read it himself. He was stunned too. The others were curious so Emmett read the message out loud.

"We have to go," Edward finally said. All of us practically ran to our room. We heard some screaming. I fumbled with my keys as my hands were shaking at the thought of Bella. Emmett was impatient and took the keys from my hand. When we burst open the door, I could see Bella lying in the middle of the living room with a pool of blood coming from her head. The guys went after Uncle Karl and he was no match against them.

"Bella, please wake up. You are going to be fine. I'm so sorry for leaving you alone," I sobbed. Angela called the police and ambulance. Within minutes, they arrived. We followed Bella to the hospital. Angela was the only one holding herself. She called for Nick and Jen to let them know what had happened.

Edward's POV

I was terrified as I was seating in the waiting room. Nick and Jen arrived minutes ago. I remembered giving a piece of my mind to Uncle Karl. It was save to say that his face became unrecognizable. The police took him away and we all gave our statements to them. I called my dad when I reached the hospital. I only trusted him to operate on Bella. The door suddenly opened and the doctors came out.

"Who's Isabella's family?"

"We all are," Nick replied. My dad smiled beside the doctor.

"She has slipped into a coma. Her head was hit pretty hard. Her will to live seems to be very weak. I'm sorry," the doctor said. My dad came to me and hugged me.

"Don't worry son. I've seen many cases like this. I'm sure she would wake up," he whispered. I nodded with tears flowing down my cheek.

"Mr and Mrs Mishaux, why don't you two go in first?" my dad said to them. They just walked into the room to see their daughter. I sat down gloomily. _If I managed to catch up with her, this all wouldn't happen. It's all my fault. I'm supposed to protect her._

"Edward, don't blame yourself," Alice said.

"But it's my fault. If I could just.."

"If you could what? We didn't know this would happen. No one wants this, Edward. We can't predict things." Alice kept talking to me, trying to bring me out of guilt. Nick and Jen walked out and I quickly stood up. They nodded at me and I went in. She was covered with tubes and wires. She looked fragile. I slowly walked towards her and sat at the chair.

"Bella, I don't know if you could hear me now," I said.

"Please wake up. I can't live without you. You are my everything. I love you so much. Please open your eyes," I said pleadingly. I took her hand and held it with both my hands. I cried silently beside her. Soon, the door opened and the rest of our friends came in. The girls cried and all of them asked her to get up from coma.

"Edward, you should go home and rest," Jasper said.

"No. I want to stay here with her."

"Leave him, Jasper. Leave him here. I'm sure he needs Bella now more than us," Alice said.

"Thanks Alice." With that, everyone said their byes and went back to sleep. I looked at my angel and brushed her hair from her face. _Bella, please wake up. We all love you. We can't lose you. Please…_

Bella's POV

I knew I woke up in a dream. I was in a secret garden. Everything was lovely. I felt…calm. Peace. Serenity. All of the feelings that I loved. Then someone appeared in front of me. It was my parents. I ran to them and hugged them. Aaron and Drew also came. I was happy. I missed them so much.

From the back of my head, I could hear someone whispered, "Please wake up. I can't live without you. You are my everything. I love you so much. Please open your eyes," It was Edward's voice. But I preferred to stay here than to go back and face reality. I found myself here back with my family. I loved them so much and not having in my life tore me apart. Although I had friends and family, but who wouldn't want their biological family? With that, I decided to stay and be happy with my family where I can find and pursue my true inner identity. _I'm sorry Edward. I love you too._

**So how is it? pls don't kill me for killing Bella. I was struggling to write this chapter. I just wrote a new called saving you. pls check it out too:) back to this story, i hope this story is alright. Thanks to those who reviewed, stayed with me this whole while and made this story a success for me. Muaxxx i love you all!! pls review for the last time:D**

**Love,**

**Izzie09**


	18. Chapter 17

**_I do not own anything_**

Bella's POV

I had no idea how long I had been here. Everything about here seemed perfect. I was absorbing the beauty of the garden around me. I skipped around, picking up flowers. There was a light of extraordinary colours; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. It was the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen. From a distance, I could see my family approached.

"Bella, you don't belong here," Charlie said softly.

"Why not? You guys are here," I whined.

"Bella, we both know where you belong. You have a loving family. You have friends who care for you. Do you really still think that you belong here?" Renee asked. Tears started forming, blurring my vision.

"But I really want to be with you," I sobbed.

"We all also would want you here. But you have the choice. Choose to live, Bella," Aaron said. My sobbing grew to an intense weeping.

"Bella, know that we all love you. We want the best for you," Drew said, hugging me.

"Go back to your life," he whispered.

Edward's POV

It had been a few days. I looked at her, lying on the hospital bed. She looked paler than usual, looking more fragile.

"Edward, go back home and take some rest."

"I don't want to," my voice croaked.

"You haven't gone back home. Go now. I'll call you if there's anything." My mother went to the table and fixed new flowers for Bella. Everyday, she would bring fresh flowers for Bella. But up till now, there was no progress in Bella. My dad told me that as time passed by, the chance of her waking up would be slimmer. I dropped my head into my hands. I couldn't think clearly ever since I saw Bella ending up here. Uncle Karl was taken away but he could not be charged with murder. _I want him to pay for this. He made this mess. We were all happy until he came into Bella's life. He's going to pay for this!_

"Edward?" I looked over to my mother. I saw hope in her. I followed her gaze to Bella. As I started to look away, I caught something moving at the side of her. Her fingers were twitching. I rushed to her side and held her hand.

"Bella, I know you can hear me. Wake up, sweetheart." My mother kept pressing the button on top of the bed. Few minutes later, my dad came in with the nurses. We were pushed outside while they checked on Bella.

"Edward, it's going to be ok."

"Mom, I don't know what I would do without Bella. I'm afraid to see or know if that happens."

"Don't worry. She has you. She's a strong girl with a strong heart. She will live." I waited outside, fearing for what might happen in the room. After what it seemed like ages, my dad walked out.

"Edward, you can go in now. Esme, I think you should call the others to come," my dad said while smiling. I ran into the room and I was relieved to see a little colour to Bella's face.

"Son, she's recovering. It's good news." Then, her eyes slowly fluttered open. I walked toward her and held her small cold hand.

"Edward?" her tiny voice barely whispered.

Bella's POV

I tried opening my eyes but everything was too bright. It was like the light could hurt my eyes. As I slowly began to take in all, I felt a pair of warm hands wrapping around my right hand. I turned and saw him.

"Edward?"

"Yes baby?"

"Am I in the hospital?"

"Yea. But don't worry. I know how much you hate hospitals. I've been here all the while."

"But…"

"Shh.. Get some rest Bella. We have the time to talk later." I thought of what had happened. _Was it all a dream? Everything felt so real. As much as I want them, I know I can't have both ways. But if that day never happened, I would never have Nick, Jen, Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie and the most importantly Edward. Is it wrong to feel a little grateful that I found my happiness through a tragic incident? Am I a freak for thinking that way?_

Edward's POV

I was full of joy. But from her voice, I knew she needed to rest. Alice's poked her head through the door. I motioned my finger to invite her in. She silently walked in with the others with tears glistening in their eyes. However, Emmett being Emmett boomed his way in. Bella stirred and woke up.

"Thanks a lot, Emmett," I said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," he played along. He jumped onto Bella's bed and hugged her.

"Emmett…too strong," she said weakly. I rushed to her and glared at Emmett. The others laughed and I had to glare at them as well to stop them.

"Chill my little brother. See? Bella's fine," Emmett said.

"Emmett, now you are too loud," Bella whined. All of us burst into laughter.

"Don't you love me Bella? Now I'm hurt," Emmett pretended to cry and wiped an imaginary tear at his eye.

"You have Rose to love you Emmett," Bella teased. As Bella said those words, Emmett rushed to Rose and planted a big wet kiss on Rosalie. Again, we all laughed till our stomachs hurt. How Bella managed to enlighten this sorrow atmosphere was truly a mystery. There she lied on her bed, she was the only one feeling the pain yet she managed to make us laugh.

"What did we miss?" Carlisle asked as he walked in with Esme.

"Bella decides to be a prick and hurt my feelings," Emmett pretended to weep.

"Really?" Carlisle was fascinated. All of us nodded our heads with huge grins on our faces.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Aside from the scent of medicine that flows through the hospital grounds?" Carlisle chuckled.

"I know how much you hate hospitals Bella. Now does any part of your body hurt?"

"My head feels like it had been knocked off by thousands of tons of lorries. Apart from that, I'm fine."

"Your head was hit very hard. So it's normal to feel that way."

"Yeah. I just figured that out. How is Uncle Karl?" Her question was no doubt filled with anger. Yet, she tried to cover it. We on the other hand knew her too well.

"Bella, why don't you rest?" Alice suggested.

"I had enough rest. Can someone fill me in the story?" I looked around and figured that I had to tell her. Alice and Rosalie went to Jasper and Emmett, shielding their face from her. Their eyes began to fill with tears and they did not want Bella to see them.

"The police managed to put him away Bella," I said hesitantly.

"But?" The door opened and Bella's parents walked in.

""Hey sweetie, how are you?" Jen asked.

"Mom, what happened after I was knocked to death?"

"Technically, you are not knocked to death. You're still alive," Nick said.

"It's just an expression dad. My head seriously feels like it cracked. Just like the coconut which fell from the tree and cracked into two."

"Carlisle, is Bella alright?" Nick asked worriedly.

"She's fine. Don't worry, Nick. She is in our good hands here."

"Can someone finish up the story or do I have to find out myself?' Bella screamed in frustration. The heart monitor picked up her racing heartbeats. Carlisle quickly rushed to her and checked.

"Bella, calm down. Being frustrated is not good for you," I said.

"Then tell me."

"His charge is injuring a minor. That's all. He will be able to walk away with a professional lawyer," I sighed.

"What?!"

"Bella, you have to calm yourself. You just came out of a coma," Carlisle warned.

"Fine. I'll just press charges on him then," she said in a huff.

"Why don't you calm down and have some rest first?" Nick said.

"I'm not tired. When can I get the green light and get out of here?"

"Bella, listen to me. You just came out of coma. You were in it for two weeks. You need to take it slow," Carlisle said.

"Bella, you have to listen to my dad. He's a doctor. He knows the best for you," I continued.

"Fine. When I'm ready to get out of here healthy and all, I'm gonna put that old man to jail for life."

"You can do anything you want later. Now, we are just glad that you come out of coma. You made us worry a lot, especially Edward," Jen said. Bella looked at me and smiled.

Bella's POV

A week later.

"Finally I'm out of here," I screamed in delight.

"Bella, you are just exaggerating," Alice said while packing my clothes in a bag. She and Emmett came to bring me out of hospital. Everyone else was busy. Not like I cared. I was too happy to get out of this jail or so called hospital. I wasn't allowed to do anything as I came out of coma. The food was tasteless and it was boring here. I only read books or watch tv to fill my time. Pathetic right? Carlisle became my doctor and hence he made sure I was really truly ok to get out of this bed. I was so sure that if he could chain me, he would. Seriously, he was very protective of me. There was once I choked while drinking water and he ran dozens of useless tests to make sure I was ok. I mean, I choked on water. Who has never done that before? Not like I was going to choke to death. Anyway, after he was satisfied with the results, he finally let me go.

"Come on, let's go. I'm hungry," Emmett said.

"I thought you ate a sandwich before you came here?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. But that was half an hour ago. Now my tummy needs food," he said while rubbing his stomach. Alice sighed while I laughed.

"I can't believe you are my brother."

"Too bad, sis. We share the same parents." I envied their brother sister conversation. _Would it be like this if Aaron and Drew are here?_

"Bella?"

"Sorry. Was in lala land just now. Want to go now?"

"Yup. Do you want to say goodbye to this room which you stayed for almost a month?" Alice teased.

"Oh, room 102 of this hospital, how I am going to miss you," I said drastically. Emmett and Alice laughed at my sarcasm.

"Okay. Enough with the drama here. I want to get home and eat," Emmett said. The ride home was full of energy. The music was blasted and we were singing along. Emmett pretended that our singing was horrible but Alice and I kept singing. When the car pulled over, I hopped of the car and ran to the door.

'Hey, are you really that excited to be home?"

"Duh. Who wouldn't when they were stuck with the hospital for nearly a month?" As I opened the front door, everyone screamed "Surprise!". My parents who were supposed to be busy were right in front of the crowd. Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Rosalie, and Edward were there. On top of their heads was a banner which said "Welcome home!". I was touched and ran to hug my parents. Then one by one gave me a hug. The last hug was from Edward.

"Come on. The party is at the back," Jen said. Edward held my hands and led me to the backyard. It was set up properly with balloons and dozens of delicious food.

"Emmett Cullen, wait for everyone only you can eat," Esme scolded her son.

"But I'm hungry," he whined. All of us laughed, including Esme.

"Emmett, I think if you eat a bear, you will still be hungry," I said.

"Can't help it if my stomach wants food. Right stomach?" he asked his stomach.

"Okay. Let's start before Emmett eats everything here," Jen suggested. They made it look like a buffet. A long table in the middle with food.

"Why don't you sit down and I'll grab something for you to eat?" Edward said while pushing me to the table.

"Edward, I'm capable of getting my own food."

"But I want to. Now be a good girl and sit here. I'll be right back." I sighed. I let him win as I was lazy to go against him. He kissed my forehead and disappeared with the crowd getting food for us. I let myself wonder off to the dream I had. _Was it really a dream or was I really on the edge to death? _

"Here you go, Bella." Food was placed in front of me and Edward sat beside me. I ate the food hungrily and everyone looked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You look like you haven't seen food for days," Edward chuckled.

"Well, practically it's true. Sorry Carlisle, but the hospital food sucks."

"Don't worry. We have lots of complains from the patients about food. But the food served is best for your health."

"I managed to figure it out. As what people say, yummy food is always unhealthy. Now, I'm gonna enjoy my food."

"You can be the next Emmett with the rate of you eating now," Alice teased.

"Hey! Being me isn't bad," Emmett said with his mouth full of food.

"Emmett Cullen, how many times do I have to tell you to not talk with your mouth full?" Esme scolded. Emmett took a huge gulp to swallow all his food down.

"Sorry mom."

"It's ok. Just remember your table manners. You make me look like a horrible mother who did not feed her child."

"Oh mother. You feed us well. It's just Emmett. Who will he be if he isn't like this? Sometimes I think there are worms infested in his stomach," Alice said.

"I did a few tests before but all came out negative, Alice," Carlisle said.

"You really check on him?" I asked Carlisle.

"Of course. When he was ten years old, he managed to eat five plates of spaghetti. I had to check him out to make sure he was alright."

"Hey, if you love somebody, you have to accept him in every ways. It's too bad that you all love me. So you all have to accept me. Does that make any sense?" Emmett said while rubbing his head, probably trying to think back what he said.

"Since when did the Emmett we know learn all those serious talk?" Jasper asked. Emmett looked up from his food and shrugged.

"Where did you learn how to talk like just now?" Rosalie asked.

"Like how?" Emmett asked.

"I believe something along the line we have to accept everything about you because we love you," I answered.

"Did I say that just now?" he asked, feeling astonished. All of us burst out laughing.

"Okay. That's the Emmett we know," Alice concluded. We continue eating with conversations flowing around. The adults talk among themselves. Emmett was busy with his food. Alice and Rosalie were planning another shopping trip while Jasper listened lovingly to his girlfriend. So that left Edward and I. He held my left hand at his lap while eating with another hand. I was just grateful with how I ended up here.

"A penny for your thought," Edward said.

"It's nothing."

"You wouldn't have a frown on your forehead if it's nothing."

"Well, I was just thinking on how to put Uncle Karl away. I mean, he has to pay for what he did to my family," she sighed.

"Right now, we are celebrating on you getting better. Let's not worry about this now ok? We will settle this later," he said softly. _Maybe he's right. Maybe everything will fall into places. And then Uncle Karl will get what he deserves. Besides, I can still remember Aaron asking me to live. I shall do that and make him proud. After all, it will need lots of effort since I'm destined to have lots of bad luck around me._

A month later.

I was nervous. _Correction: I was FREAKING nervous. _And it was only 8 am. I had waited till this day. I was supposed to be excited, not nervous. Yet, I couldn't get rid of that feeling. My cell vibrated and saw a text message from Edward.

_We'll be there in 10 minutes. Don't stress yourself out. This is the moment you have been waiting for. I love you. E_

I read it for a few times, smiling to myself. Only he knew that I would be feeling nervous. _Damn it Bella. Edward's right. I have been waiting for this day. I should be ecstatic. _A car's horn brought me back to reality.

"Bella!" Alice screamed.

"In here," I replied. Edward, Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle walked into my room. Edward sat on the bed beside me and wrapped me in his arms.

"Bella, everything is going to work out well," Esme said.

"I hope so," I replied.

"Bella, it's time to go," Jen said. All of us fit into two cars which were Emmett's jeep and Nick's 4-wheel drive. Nick's lawyer greeted us at the entrance and went through the process with us. Nick had hired his lawyer to represent me. At first it was hard to open up to him. But with Nick's and Jen's help, I managed to tell him everything. He then worked his magic and made a court case. If we were going to win, Uncle Karl would face a lifetime jail.

"I'm confident that we will win this case, Mr. Mischaux," Mathew, our lawyer said.

"But there's no evidence of the crime. How can we pull him in?" I asked worriedly.

"I have said this before and I shall say it again. You are going to put him in. You just have to be brave and testify. We wouldn't need evidence. Him trying to hurt you has already put the court at your side," he explained.

"Bella, chill. You are making me nervous too," Jasper said. I smiled to him and continued walking into the court room. Everyone hugged me and assuring me that everything would be fine before sitting behind me at the stands, giving me their full support. I sat with Mathew and the judge walked in. All of us stood and the session began. They started off with Brett and Chad. They told about their relationship with both Uncle Karl and 1. Finally, it was my turn to talk. I told my side of the story again and watched Uncle Karl smirking at the opposite of me.

"Miss Mischaux, why didn't you go to the police right after that?" his lawyer asked.

"Because I was afraid."

"Afraid of what? If you are telling the truth, the law would protect you. Yet, you choose to run away and lead a different life."

"I witnessed my family's death. I was too scared and horrified of him. Of course I ran away."

"Or is it because you want to frame an innocent man? Karl is the perfect goat for you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, controlling my anger.

"What I'm saying here is you, Miss Isabella Anne Mischaux is lying. How could one remember of the past which happened very long time ago? And you were telling your little story with so much detail. How did you do it?"

"I'm not lying. That man killed my family. We both know it," I screamed with tears falling down my cheek.

"Your Honour, may we have a break? Miss Mischaux is having difficulty with her emotions now," Mathew said.

"The court shall go for a break. This case will continue at noon." Everyone stood up and waited for the judge to walk away. Edward came running to me and hugged me, comforting me.

"Bella, you have to control your emotions. They are trying to provoke you, hoping that it will help Karl to get away. You need to see and not fall into their trap," Matthew advised.

"Bella, can you do it?" Nick asked, his voice full of concern. I nodded. _Pull yourself together, Bella. You have to do it for yourself, for everyone. _I mentally scolded myself. Soon, the break was over and the session continued.

"Miss Mischaux, do you have any prove of this incident which happened 11 years ago?" Uncle Karl's lawyer started interrogating me. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself before answering him.

"I have no prove except for my memory. Only we both know what happened. The reason he tried to kill me was because he found out that I knew the truth."

"I have nothing further to ask." Mathew stood and gave his speech.

"Isabella Anne Mischaux was only 5 years old when she witnessed the death of her family. She didn't know what to do. Her instinct was to tell her to run away. She ran and started a new life, hoping that Karl would not be in her life anymore. When Karl found out about her, he tried to kill her. Her friends who were with her all the time claimed that he was creepy and scary. They also saw him trying to kill her in her own house. What else do we need to open our eyes and see that Isabella Swan was a victim all the while? I hope you can ask yourself what you would do if you were in her shoes. She was nothing but brave. She went on with her life even though Karl went back into her life. So I plead this case that Karl is guilty for murdering the Swan family." Mathew sat down and Uncle Karl's lawyer stood for his turn.

"Karl is respected by many people. He was Charlie Swan's best friend. He became a famous basketball coach who is loved by everyone now. Isabella Anne Mischaux might be furious on the fact that Karl took over her father's job. She wants to blame the accident on a poor innocent man. Karl did not try to kill her. He loves her as if she is his own daughter. She provoked him on that day which resulted in him defending himself. It was merely a defend act. Therefore, I plead that my client, Karl is not guilty." I sat there, shocked at his statement. It was a big huge lie. _The jury can't possibly take his words. They are nuts to do so. _The jury went into a room while we waited patiently for them. It was the most excruciating waiting in my life. I had never waited like this before, waiting for a group of people deciding on your fate. As I sat beside Mathew, sweating cold sweats, the jury finally came out.

"What is your verdict?"

"We have come to our verdict. Our verdict is Karl Mahone is guilty." Upon hearing that, I could hear my family and friends cheering for me. Nothing could describe the feeling I had now. I looked over at Uncle Karl and he was full of remorse but at the same time I could see anger in his eyes.

"Bella!" Nick and Jen hugged me. I hugged them back, feeling relieved.

"I'm so proud of you. You totally kicked his ass," Alice said.

"Alice, language," Esme said. Emmett hugged me next and once again I felt breathless in his arms.

"Emmett..can't breathe." He chuckled and let me go. Edward kissed me and I kissed him back deeply. We only broke apart when Emmett started teasing us. I totally have forgotten about them. My cheeks went to different shades of red after being caught by our parents.

"Told you not to worry," Edward whispered to me as we walked to our cars. I smiled at him. My parents wanted to celebrate so we were going back to our house together. Edward sat in the car beside me and held my hand during the ride home. I could only think of the future. Now I would have nothing to worry about. Uncle Karl would be gone from my life now and my family and friends would be forever with me. As we were chatting in the living room, Edward pulled me to the backyard. It was already night time and we all had fun.

"Why are you bringing me out here?"

"Bella, would you go to prom with me?" he asked. _Did he ask what I thought he just asked? _

"Bella, you can say no if you want to." My silence had brought him to think that I wouldn't want him. I shook my head and placed my hands at both sides of his face.

'Edward, I would love to go with you," I said while staring into his green eyes. He grinned widely and hugged me. He swung me around in circles and I giggled like a small girl. Now, I could relax and let the wind take me. I had nothing to worry now. _I am free. Thank you Aaron, Drew, mom, dad. Thank you for protecting me. I'm going to live my life like you wanted me to._

**hey all..i know i ended the story in the previous chapter. this is just an alternative ending. all this while i kept thinking that it should be a 'happily ever after' story because its edward and bella story. but at the same time, this ending is abit predictable. so i'm not sure on how to end it. this chapter was in my mind since the beginning but i had no time to write. i have been busy with studying and my exam trials. thank you so much for all the reviews even though most of u hated the previous chapter. i'll reply all of them asap as i'm swamped with my studies now. i'm gonna sit for my major exam in 6-7 weeks so i'm not sure when i have the time to use my comp. but i thank all of you from the bottom of my heart to make my story a successful one. thanks alot! n i just started a new story. i'll be thrilled if you guys read that too:D so this is the end of the story. im gonna miss this story. thanks for all your support!!**


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